Heuliez Bus is a French

limited company In a limited company, the liability of members or subscribers of the company is limited to what they have invested or guaranteed to the company. Limited companies may be limited by Share (finance), shares or by guarantee. In a company limited by ...

, former part of the Henri Heuliez Group. It was formed in 1980. It is an Iveco Group brand and is specialized in manufacturing buses and coaches.

History

Heuliez Bus has developed many types of

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...

vehicles and gained the recognition of Mercedes-Benz O305 (rigid) and O305 G ( articulated) with other front and rear, badged as Heuliez. Around 600 of each type operated in France between 1975 and 1995. In 1982 the company started to build the GX 17, a minibus based on the

Renault Master The Renault Master is a large van produced by the French manufacturer Renault since 1980, now in its third generation. It replaced the earlier Renault Super Goélette light trucks. Opel has sold versions of the second and third series vans as ...

. After that, in the 1980s, collaborated with

Renault Bus Renault Trucks is a French commercial truck manufacturer with corporate headquarters at Saint-Priest near Lyon. Originally part of Renault, it has been a subsidiary of the Volvo Group since 2001. From its beginnings in 1978 to 2002, the comp ...

to develop the GX 107 and GX 187 and built the GX 44, for the public transport authority of

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, which is based on an O305; and the GX 113, specifically for the city of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. In the 1980s, Heuliez Bus and

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

developed the "Mégabus" (officially the Heuliez GX237) which was a bi-articulated high-floor bus based on the

Renault PR180.2 The Renault PR180 and PR180.2 was a step-entrance articulated bus chassis produced by Renault Véhicules Industriels in Lyon, France. The PR180 was based on Renault's popular PR100 rigid bus, and shares many common components. Once a common sig ...

. Ten of these buses were built in 1989 for

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

which was used until the

tram system A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

opened in 2004.
In 1990 Heuliez Bus made the Heuliez GX 77H, GX 77H

midibus A midibus is a classification of single-decker minibuses which are generally larger than a traditional minibus but smaller than a full-size single decker and can be anywhere between and long. While used in many parts of the world, the mi ...

(The H standing for Heuliez), and in 1994, the low-floor bus GX 317, built on a Renault chassis. From 1995 to 2001, its collaboration with

Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

led to the design and production of the GX 217 and GX 417. The GX 117 midibus, the successor to the 77H, was launched in 1999. As of 2012, with significant restyling, this is sold as the GX 327. GX 127 and GX 127L are at the planning stage. The newest product, designed for

Clermont-Ferrand Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...

, is the GX 427. Although its

CNG Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cyl ...

version was turned down, it is the twin, articulated version of the Irisbus Citelis 18. In France, buses produced by the company have the marques "Heuliez Bus"; elsewhere they are known as "Irisbus". The company manufactured buses between 1985 and 2006. Amongst other things, since 2002 Heuliez Bus has manufactured the

Irisbus Civis IVECO Bus (formerly Irisbus) is a bus manufacturer with headquarters in Turin. IVECO Bus is now only a brand division of IVECO which is a company incorporated under Dutch law and listed on Borsa Italiana. History IVECO (1975 - 1999) In 1975 F ...

and

Irisbus Cristalis The Irisbus Cristalis is a trolleybus manufactured by Iveco Bus (formerly known as Irisbus. It comes in two variants: *ETB12 – Rigid bus *ETB18 – Articulated bus The ETB12 is a full-sized trolleybus whose competitors were the MAZ-ETON T203, ...

on behalf of the Bus

business unit A strategic business unit (SBU) in business strategic management, is a profit center which focuses on product offering and market segment. SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even though ...

Iveco Bus IVECO Bus (formerly Irisbus) is a bus manufacturer with headquarters in Turin. IVECO Bus is now only a brand division of IVECO which is a company incorporated under Dutch law and listed on Borsa Italiana. History IVECO (1975 - 1999) In 1975 F ...

. In 2008 the company had revenue of €118.1m, employing around 450 employees at its factory in Rorthais.

Gallery

File:Mercedes O305 G Heuliez.jpg, Heuliez O305G File:Heuliez GX 57 Réseau 67 n°155 Strasbourg Baggersee.jpg, Heuliez GX 57 File:GX77H.jpg, Heuliez GX 77H File:Heuliez GX 87 n°372 Réseau 67 Strasbourg Rotonde.jpg, Heuliez GX 87 File:Heuliez GX 107 n°337 Mendès France - Zéphir Bus.JPG, Heuliez GX 107 File:Heuliez GX117 reseau Alto.JPG, Heuliez GX 117 File:HeuliezBus GX 127 ligne 41 Divia.JPG, Heuliez GX 127 File:Heuliez_GX_187_Evreux.JPG, Heuliez GX 187 File:GX 217 GNV sur le réseau Ligne d'azur.JPG, Heuliez GX 217 CNG File:GX 237 Heuliez Bus.jpg, Heuliez GX 237 File:GX317Broch.JPG, Heuliez GX 317 File:HeuliezBusGX327-121Brest.jpg, Heuliez GX 327 File:Heuliez GX 417 STAN Nancy.jpg, Heuliez GX 417 File:Bus ligne 10.JPG, Heuliez GX 427 File:StadsbusQbuzz4814.jpg, Heuliez GX 437

Notes and references

External links

Official websiteHeuliez
- official web site
Heuliez-Mia
- official web site
Paris 2008: Heuliez Friendly
{{Automotive industry in France Iveco Bus manufacturers of France Coachbuilders of France