Press release

• First pilot series vehicles handed over to fire departments in Amsterdam, Berlin and Dubai
• By 2030, more than 3,200 firefighting vehicles with similar technology will be in operation worldwide

The Revolutionary Technology (RT) is ready for the market, the first pilot series vehicles of the innovative model series have been delivered. Today's launch event also marks the beginning of global sales of the hybrid municipal fire fighting vehicle. Due to the high levels of interest garnered by the underlying Concept Fire Truck (CFT) from emergency response organisations across the globe, Rosenbauer estimates the global demand for municipal fire fighting vehicles with comparable technology to be more than 3,200 units by 2030, with most of the demand coming from large metropolitan areas.

“The RT is not just a vehicle, but an overall concept that will revolutionise everyday lives within the fire department in future, and for us involves much more than just expanding our vehicle portfolio. With the RT, we offer the complete digitalisation of firefighting operations, from resource planning and operational management, through to documentation and evaluation. In addition, clients have various operating models, warranties and financing models to choose from. This is further proof that Rosenbauer is the sole systems supplier to the global firefighting industry", says Dieter Siegel, CEO of Rosenbauer International.

Lead clients as innovation partners
The lead clients confirm the interest from metropolises. They will receive the first pilot series vehicles, put them through their paces during operations, and make the knowledge gained available for ongoing series development and production. The fire departments of Dubai, Berlin and Amsterdam are the first, with Los Angeles, Portland, Vancouver, Canberra and Oslo to follow. Moreover the RT has met strong interest on all continents.

It is no coincidence that almost all innovation partners and most of those interested in the RT come from the C40 Climate Leadership Group of Cities. They have come together in the joint fight against climate change, and have set the goal of reducing urban environmental pollution, especially CO2 emissions from inner-city traffic. Municipal vehicle fleets have a function as a role model here, which is why emergency response organisations such as fire departments want to contribute to achieving the goals set.

Hybrid drive enables groundbreaking vehicle architecture
But the RT is far more than simply an electrified firefighting vehicle. The electric drive is just the starting point for a number of special design features that bring with them decisive advantages for the operational flow, operations management system and, above all, for the health of the emergency crews. The RT sets new standards in terms of driving dynamics and driving safety, ergonomics and operation, as well as communications and networking. It functions as an operations center with its own WiFi network, and as a wireless control station for digital solutions such as drones or robots. That makes it appealing not only to fire departments, but all disaster control and blue light organisations.

“Already in 2012, we outlined the vision of what the future of fire departments would look like in a digitalised and increasingly connected world, and we defined our investment strategy based on this. The most important conclusion for us from this was the firefighting vehicle of the future. After all, vehicles are a part of Rosenbauer's DNA. However, we have also pursued the topic of digital solutions with equal intensity and today offer fire departments a broad portfolio of new technologies, including drones and robots, for example" says Andreas Zeller, CSO of Rosenbauer International.

Series production from the end of 2021
In 2017, the competencies for the further development of the RT to readiness for series production were bundled in Rosenbauer E-Technology Development GmbH (RED), which has been responsible for the cooperation with the innovation partners from the various model regions. In addition to twenty engineers at RED, around ten specialists from vehicle production are now working with the RT. Production will be prepared for series production in the next few months, with the start of production planned for the end of 2021. The RT will be manufactured at the corporate headquarters in Leonding, Upper Austria.

In the first phase, the RT will be launched on the market as a fire fighting vehicle for municipal use. The vehicle concept will subsequently be further developed and the technology will also be available to airport and factory fire departments, for example.