Altogether some 2000 South-Korean city buses will be converted to full-electric drive during the coming years by integrating the Dutch e-Traction wheel hub electric motors and a battery-pack into these vehicles. For testing purposes five buses will be converted to this type of driveline during the coming months and shipped to South Korea for testing purposes. The conversion of two buses will even be completed this year, and combined with the training of South Korean maintenance technicians at the e-Traction plant in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands.

The conversion of all other buses will be done at Seoul, during the years 2011 till and including 2014 some 500 buses per year will be converted to the e-Traction electric drive. The components for the conversion will be supplied by e-Traction; as a supplier of traction engines they rely on the German supplier Ziehl-Abegg.

For The Wheel, as e-Traction calls its driveline concept, this is an important step forwards towards being accepted by the world market. Till now only a number of users in The Netherlands were willing to invest in this concept. Veolia is running a small number of buses in the Apeldoorn region, the public transport company of Rotterdam (RET) will be put into service a number of CDL city buses with this e-Traction driveline during early 2010.

For South Korean the investment in this e-Traction "The Wheel" electric traction system is part of a "Green Growth" project,  which should lead to a more durable national economy by making clear choices for alternatives like energy generated by the sun, wind and water and stimulating electric traction for all kinds of vehicles.