After winning the bid for the Expo 2000 in 1990, the city of Hanover faced the need to greatly improve its transportation system.

Therefore, the autobahn system was brought up to better standards, new buses were ordered (the StadtBus), and it was decided to buy new light rail vehicles for the Hanover Stadtbahn.

Whilst a ninth series of the TW 6000, the Stadtbahn vehicle built from 1974 to 1993, could have technically been produced, the Hanover public transport operator üstra decided to build a new vehicle from scratch, using up-to-date technology, without the necessity to make the vehicle compatible to the aged design of the TW 6000.

2001, the first of the series, was delivered the following day to the Hanover fairground to serve as a showcase at Hannover Messe.

A notable feature is a system of several monitor pairs mounted under the ceiling.