Huebner boss says long-term prospects for mobility market bright

Berlin, Germany – Despite months of operating in “crisis mode” following the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, German rail and bus components supplier Huebner Group remains positive about the long-term outlook of public transport services.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic in China in January, Huebner has had to take a series of measures, including temporarily closures, relocating production and dealing with interrupted supply, said general manager Helge Förster during a German Transport Forum in Berlin.

“After China came India and Malaysia, then Europe and North American, and finally Brazil and South Africa,” he said, “For months now, the family-owned company has been operating in crisis mode.”

While production in Russia and China has returned to a “high level”, Förster said demand in the US continued to be “significantly weaker” compared to pre-Covid levels. 

“And in Brazil, India and South Africa, it's hardly possible to do anything," he added. 

However, Förster said he was convinced that in the long-term, the mobility market would remain a growth area.

"Particularly in the major metropolises around the world, there is simply no alternative to the use of public transport for both local and long-distance requirements,” he said.

In addition, Förster said he believed that a strong political and social support for a shift in transport and mobility practices will drive further demand. 

Based in Kassel, Germany, Huebner is a supplier of gangway systems and elastomer door sealings for buses and railway industries.

In the aftermath of Covid, the company said it is exploring new opportunities and is currently working on new antiviral surfaces for use in public transport vehicles.