Van Hool NV (Dutch pronunciation: [vɑn ˈɦoːl]) was a Belgian coachbuilder and manufacturer of buses, coaches, trolleybuses, and trailers.

Most of the buses and coaches were built entirely by Van Hool, with engines and axles sourced from Caterpillar, Cummins, DAF and MAN and gearboxes from ZF or Voith.

Worldwide, Van Hool employs 4,500 people and manufactures more than 1,700 buses and coaches (bodyworks and complete vehicles combined) and 5,000 trailers each year.

[citation needed] The company was founded in 1947 by Bernard van Hool (1902–1974) in Koningshooikt, near Lier, Belgium.

It developed from a coachbuilder to a Belgian manufacturer of integral buses and coaches, known as Van Hool-Fiat.

In August 1958, a year and a half after the agreement with Fiat was signed, the 100th Van Hool-Fiat was delivered, and by July 1961, the figure had exceeded 500.

Since 2016, Van Hool and Scania have jointly developed and produced the TDX24 Astromega double-decker highway bus (also marketed as the J-InterCity DD [ja]) solely for the Japanese market, as the spiritual successor to the Mitsubishi Fuso Aero King which was discontinued six years earlier.

In 1990, Van Hool purchased the coachbuilding business of LAG Manufacturing and continued producing their EOS models for about ten years.

In Europe, Van Hool has a broad range of coaches, though all designs share similar looks and are based on the same platform, the TX.

Additionally, the T9 body is also available on chassis by Scania, Volvo, and VDL, though only in Sweden and the British Isles.

In April 2011, Van Hool launched the ExquiCity platform, aimed specifically at the BRT market.

At the Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung 2014 in Hanover, Germany, Van Hool presented the new EX series of touring coaches for the European market.

[4] Due to American federal safety requirements and other unique factors, only highway touring coaches were introduced in the United States initially, starting in 1987.

In 2018, Van Hool Headquarters announced plans to construct a new manufacturing facility in Morristown, Tennessee designed to produce public transit buses.

The facility was planned to open in 2020, and employ 600 workers, capable of making approximately 400 buses annually.

[6] Van Hool was building sixteen hydrogen fuel cell buses for the United States as of August 2009[update].

These buses are unique in the United States market, as they have their engines mounted between the front and rear axles in an attempt to improve the ride quality.

This bus is a longer version of the previously introduced 30-foot (9.1 m) A300K (K stands for kort, "short" in Dutch and L for lang, "long").

A survey of AC Transit riders found that they approved of the design and quality of the new buses.

These buses differ from AC Transit's A300Ls as they have three doors and are equipped for cold weather and high altitude operations.

The A300K was chosen because of its ability to do the work of 40-foot (12.2 m) buses for nearly all operations with the smaller body and engine of a midi bus.

Introduced in 1995 and based on the European T9 platform, the T21 series features an updated design and more engine choices.

Later models of the T21 simplified the windshield into two panes only, replaced headlight assemblies with individual projector lamps, and consolidated the driver console.

In 2015, Van Hool introduced a 35-foot coach to the North American market to compete with the MCI J3500.