Contribution to sustainable mobility in the region
Kai Mentel, Managing Director of the HÜBNER Group and responsible for the Mobility Rail business division, welcomed Jan Christoph Harder, President Region West and North of Škoda Group, and Michael Schröder, Member of the Board of Management of KVG, to the HÜBNER site in Kassel, among others. The partners took the opportunity to acknowledge the successful cooperation.
“Kassel will be our tenth city where Škoda trams will be riding. For us it is great commitment for the city and whole region, but we are very pleased to be able to make a contribution to sustainable mobility in Kassel and the region together with our partner HÜBNER for KVG as our customer,” says Jan Christoph Harder, President Region West and North of the Škoda Group.
High-performance components for KVG’s major vehicle investment
“With the new trams from the Škoda Group, we are continuing to drive forward a major vehicle investment in the history of KVG,” emphasises KVG board member Michael Schröder.“To implement the mobility turnaround, we need vehicles that are at the highest technical level in all respects. This includes high-performance components that are constantly being further developed.”
At the press conference, the guests were able to get an idea of the development and production of the innovative gangway systems during a tour through production halls at the HÜBNER site in Kassel. The focus was on close cooperation and regional value creation: “For this project, the following is clear: ‘From Kassel, for Kassel!’ Our teams in design and technology have developed and optimized the systems here at the site,” said Kai Mentel. “Customer proximity and local value creation are fundamentally very important to us. And we realize this for our customers with around 30 locations on almost all continents.”
First components for KVG’s major project
The delivery of the first components to the Škoda Group from August 2025 marks an important milestone in KVG’s major project, to which HÜBNER is contributing a total of 44 gangway systems for the 22 new trams. Each system consists of outer corrugated bellows, inner bellows and turntable. In addition, there are the lower and upper articulation systems, which are generally characterized by a high level of ease of maintenance and innovative technical features.
High-tech from Kassel for the mobility turnaround in northern Hesse
The lower articulation is the FX1000pro, the latest model from the high-performance FX articulation series, which HÜBNER has further developed and manufactures in a recently rebuilt production section at the site in Kassel-Waldau. It is manufactured in a particularly sustainable manner in accordance with modern eco-design and, with a particularly long service life, ensures greater availability of the vehicles.
The upper articulation systems come from the affiliated company HEMSCHEIDT Engineering from Feucht near Nuremberg. They have an integrated suspension element that optimises the spring characteristics and reduces weight – for greater energy efficiency and driving comfort.
High-performance vehicles in operation from 2027
Accessibility will also be improved by the new trams for KVG. Hand folding ramps from the HÜBNER site in Kassel enable wheelchair users, travellers with prams or heavy luggage to board easily and thus improve the social participation of people with disabilities.
The Škoda Group plans to deliver the first new trams to KVG in mid-2026. The new vehicles are expected to be on the road from 2027 in the regular service of the KVG city network, to Vellmar and on the routes to Baunatal and through the Losse Valley.
