The GB Kite range was launched in September 2021, following the launch of the double-deckWright StreetDeck Electroliner and Hydroliner range earlier in the year.[3] The Electroliner BEV has a maximum range of 250 miles (400 km) with the top option of a 567kwh battery, charged through conventional DC charging or pantograph charging. The Hydroliner FCEV has a maximum range of 640 miles (1,030 km), powered with a with either a 70 or 100kwh fuel cell system produced by Ballard Power Systems in combination with a 35 kg (77 lb) or 50 kg (110 lb) hydrogen tank.[4] Regular production of both GB Kite variants was fully underway by December 2022.[5]
The first orders for GB Kites was placed in November 2021, with Metrobus ordering 20 Hydroliner FCEV vehicles for use on the Fastway network.[6][7] The first buses from this order, also being the first production Hydroliners, began entering service with Metrobus on the Fastway network in April 2023, with the order for 20 completed later in June.[8][9] A further order for 23 Kite Hydroliners was placed in June 2023 for Metrobus services in Surrey.[10][11]
60 left-hand drive Hydroliner FCEVs have been ordered by Cologne municipal operator Regionalverkehr Köln [de], Wrightbus' first European order since the bus builder was rescued from bankruptcy, with deliveries of the Hydroliners to take place between 2024 and 2025.[12][13][14] Twelve were ordered by WestVerkehr [de] in October 2023 for service in Geilenkirchen in North Rhine-Westphalia,[15] followed by an order for 28 Hydroliners by Saarbahn in February 2024 for service in Saarbrücken.[16][17]
In May 2022, Wrightbus entered a deal to supply the Australian bodybuilder Volgren with two GB Kite Hydroliner chassis for the company to body. These two buses are scheduled to enter service with Transdev Queensland for hydrogen fuel-cell trial services in Brisbane.[18][19][20]
The FirstGroup ordered 173 GB Kite Electroliners in August 2022 for five of the group's subsidiaries as part of an order which also included 20 StreetDeck Electroliners. The first buses from an initial order of 68 GB Kite Electroliners began entering service with First Leicester in May 2023,[21] followed by deliveries of 24 GB Kite Electroliners to First York beginning in late August 2023,[22] and 32 to First West Yorkshire's Bramley depot between January and March 2024 for service in Leeds;[23] further orders for GB Kite Electroliners have been made by First Eastern Counties and First Hampshire & Dorset for services in Norwich and Portsmouth respectively,[24][25] while 18 more are also due for delivery to First Leicester in 2024.[26][27]
28 GB Kite Electroliners were delivered for Translink's Foyle Metro operation in Derry in May 2023.[28][29] These buses began entering service in the city in August 2023 after the installation of charging infrastructure and training of staff at the Foyle Metro depot.[30] 50 more GB Kite Electroliners have been ordered for delivery to both Ulsterbus and Metro in Belfast in summer 2024.[31]
The Oxford Bus Company is to receive five GB Kite Electroliners as part of a 104-vehicle order for zero-emission Wrightbus buses,[32] while Abellio London, the first Transport for London operator to order GB Kites, ordered 12 GB Kite Electroliners for service on route E7 featuring a redesigned front end to comply with TfL's Bus Safety Standard;[33] a further 24 are to be delivered in 2024,[34] while Arriva London announced it had placed orders for 11 GB Kite Electroliners in February 2024.[35]
^Deakin, Tim (17 July 2023). "Hydrogen 'the only option' for Metrobus Fastway ZE". routeone. Retrieved 18 July 2023. In the meantime, Metrobus's hydrogen fleet at Crawley will grow beyond the 20 Hydroliners thanks to collaboration with Surrey County Council (SCC). It is providing £16 million to fund 34 additional hydrogen fuel cell-electrics over the coming 18 months. They will be used on services in Surrey and be Hydroliners from Wrightbus in a mix of GB Kite single-deckers and StreetDeck double-deckers.
^Lyons, Mark (9 August 2023). "Metrobus at forty". Buses. No. 822. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 32. Retrieved 20 September 2023. The authority will procure 23 single-deckers and 11 double-deckers, which are expected to be delivered next year for use on routes 100 [...], 420 [...], 430/435 [...], 460 [...], 480 [...] and 820 [...].
^Halford, Paul (27 March 2023). "LTA partnerships are crucial, says First Bus MD". routeone. Retrieved 27 March 2023. The unveiling of the Wrightbus GB Kite Electroliner single-decker at First Leicester's depot last week was a significant step as 18 more were also put on order to add to the 86 already on their way.
^Lidstone, John G.; et al. (19 April 2023). "In Fleet News this month". Buses. No. 818. Stamford: Key Publishing. Retrieved 22 August 2023. Electric single-deckers on order are 13 Switch Metrocity for route E5 and 12 Wright GB Kite Electroliners for route E7.
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