VDL New Generation Citea
- Case A design that captures the excitement of the moment while creating a lasting impression on the market
- Client VDL Bus & Coach
- Industry Public Transport Buses & Coaches
In 2012, MODYN designed VDL’s first electric bus, the Citea SLFA-e. But as the Dutch bus and coach brand developed their new powerful batteries and electric drive system, they knew they needed a new future-proof design for their bus to usher in this new era of technology. As long-time partners who gave the company a new look and designed many buses for VDL, MODYN was brought in to help design this next generation of Citea buses – this time completely from scratch.
Working with the new compact electric drive system with many new features, VDL and MODYN started all over again with a new approach to the interior that made the cabin feel bigger, designed a new state-of-the-art aerodynamic exterior and developed a best-in-class driver’s compartment. The concept for the New Generation Citea is directly inspired by the cities themselves – looking at interior architecture rather than car design – and carefully balances the VDL brand and Citea heritage with fashionable and a timeless look and feel, creating an exciting feel that will age gracefully over its 20-plus year lifespan.
With the New Generation Citea, we had completely new design parameters, such as a larger cabin space thanks to smaller electric batteries and a compact powertrain. This allowed us to design new solutions to age-old problems like passenger accessibility and efficient flow of people in and out of the bus – all things we researched extensively before we started.
Normally, we would look for inspiration in the car and truck industry. But as one of the first brands to launch an all-electric bus, VDL was convinced that the New Generation Citea needed a totally different look. At this early stage, we decided that cities themselves would be our inspiration. We looked at architecture, cityscapes and public spaces to come up with new, simple and clean lines for our design.
MODYN was brought in at the very first stage of the New Generation Citea, allowing us to provide input on key design elements before engineering was completed. This allowed us to design attractive new features, such as curved side walls that create much more visual space than typical vertical bus walls.
We presented VDL 3D CAD models and used our Virtual Reality simulators to illustrate the scale of the bus, show in detail how reflections shine and demonstrate how to move through the cabin. But VR also allowed us to come up with solutions to prevent problems, such as making sure the driver’s cabin also met the ergonomic needs of female drivers who are typically smaller.
