July 7 - Golden Dragon and European new-energy vehicle manufacturer Ebusco rolled off the production line their jointly developed first 18-metre carbon-fiber battery electric bus at Golden Dragon's Longhai manufacturing base. The two parties also inked a long-term strategic cooperation agreement. This milestone represents the fruits of more than a decade of evolving technical collaboration and signals that China's bus manufacturers are shifting their high-end new-energy export strategy from standalone product sales toward deep industrial collaboration.

Urban public transport worldwide is accelerating toward zero-emission operations. Europe, an early adopter of commercial new-energy buses, continues to raise market requirements for vehicle energy efficiency, lightweight performance and operational adaptability. As gains in power battery energy density begin to plateau, body weight reduction has emerged as one of the core routes to extend driving range and cut full-lifecycle operating costs. Carbon fiber composites feature high specific strength and corrosion resistance and have long been widely deployed in aerospace applications. However, high manufacturing costs and process complexity have prevented their large-scale adoption in commercial vehicles. The launch of this 18-metre carbon-fiber electric bus marks a major breakthrough through cross-value-chain collaboration and delivers a viable technical solution for lightweight upgrades of large public transit buses.

Ebusco is a leading European player in zero-emission electric buses. Since its founding, the company has focused on electric bus R&D, energy management and sustainable public transport solutions, building deep expertise in lightweight vehicle integration, battery deployment, and compliance with European regulations and operational requirements. As a major Chinese bus manufacturer, Golden Dragon has pursued continuous technological innovation and global expansion since its establishment in 1992. Its product portfolio covers urban transit, tour coaches and intercity shuttle services, with sales reaching more than 150 countries and regions worldwide. During this project, Golden Dragon coordinated with key upstream suppliers including battery and carbon fiber material providers to form industrial synergy, leveraging integrated supply-chain resources to ensure efficient vehicle development and consistent build quality.

The core innovations of the 18-metre electric bus lie in its body materials and spatial structural design. The primary load-bearing structure of the vehicle is built with carbon fiber composites, delivering substantial weight savings compared with conventional steel or aluminum bodies and cutting baseline energy consumption during operation. For urban bus routes characterised by long daily operating hours and frequent stop-start cycles, lightweighting delivers sustained benefits in extended range and reduced energy costs across the vehicle's service life. Carbon fiber also offers inherent excellent chemical corrosion resistance and anti-ageing properties, enabling reliable operation in humid, high-salinity coastal European cities. This slows structural degradation and improves long-term vehicle dependability.

The body adopts a sandwich structure with thermal-insulating core material sandwiched between inner and outer skins, greatly enhancing thermal retention. In hot weather, it reduces cold air leakage and lowers air-conditioning loads; in cold seasons, it blocks ingress of low ambient temperatures and cuts heating demand, improving overall vehicle energy efficiency from multiple angles. For cabin layout, batteries are mounted under the floor without encroaching on passenger space. Combined with a full-flat floor design, the layout facilitates smoother passenger boarding and movement while expanding standing passenger capacity, meeting the high-volume passenger demands of major urban trunk routes. The bus is also equipped with an electronic mirror system that uses digital imaging to broaden the driver’s field of view, eliminate certain blind spots associated with conventional mirrors and boost safety in complex urban traffic conditions.

As global transport decarbonisation deepens, competition in new-energy commercial vehicles is expanding beyond powertrains into material innovation and full-lifecycle services. The debut of this carbon-fiber electric bus not only brings a new lightweighting solution to Europe's bus market but also pioneers a collaborative model for high-end exports by China's bus industry. Moving forward, the partners will upgrade their cooperation from a single project to end-to-end long-term collaboration spanning R&D, manufacturing and after-market operations, supporting the global transition to zero-emission urban public transport.