Iveco Bus, a brand of Iveco Group, has opened a new prototype & testing Centre at its Vysoké Mýto site in the Czech Republic.
The inauguration ceremony, held on 27 May, was attended by Czech Minister of Transport Martin Kupka, alongside other dignitaries and media representatives.
The newly established centre is equipped to support a variety of energy types, including natural gas, battery electric, and hydrogen-powered vehicles.
Spanning 4,100m² across two floors, the facility has doubled its workspace and can house prototypes up to 18m in length.
The construction of this centre was completed over a period of 18 months, the company said.
The centre features 12 workstations with overhead platforms for easy access to vehicle rooftops, a thermal chamber that can reach temperatures of 50°C for climate comfort testing, and preparation areas for a range of vehicle tests.
These tests include internal and external noise measurements, vibration tests, road behaviour analyses, and energy consumption evaluations.
The facility is not just about testing, it also houses specialised areas for machining, manufacturing, and assembling metal subassemblies, producing and bonding wooden parts like floors, and 3D printing capabilities.
With over 50 staff, including 20 engineers, the centre is boosting its training hours by 25% this year to ensure the team is adept in new energy technologies.
This centre works in synergy with other research facilities of the manufacturer, like the E-BENCH in Vénissieux and the Turin centre, to conduct validation tests not possible in Vysoké Mýto.
Iveco Czech Republic managing director David Kříž said: “This new Prototype & Testing Centre in Vysoké Mýto is of strategic importance for the development of future vehicle models equipped with the latest technologies, regardless of the propulsion energy."
In December 2024, Iveco Bus secured an order from the BusGruppe purchasing group in Germany to supply 580 electric and hybrid buses over the next five years.
The agreement includes up to 200, 12m crossway low entry Elec buses, and 50 articulated E-way electric buses, all equipped with high-energy-density 69.3kWh NMC battery packs which boasts an energy density of 180Wh/kg.
