2023-09 SUSTAINABLE BUS

OUTLOOKS
UK MANUFACTURERS DEALING WITH MARKET CHALLENGES
RECOVERING
The UK’s bus and coach OEMs are seeing returning
demand coinciding with new orders. With supply mainly
into the domestic market, they are also supplying Europe
and beyond, with focus on zero-emission vehicles
On first reflection, July’s late cancellation
of the Coach & Bus UK
exhibition, due to take place in
November 2023, does not bode
particularly well for the UK market. The
organisers cited the withdrawal of OEMs
through post-pandemic budget constraints
as one reason to call it off. In this respect,
the exhibition also faced competition with
Busworld Europe. In addition, the exhibition
team reported that full order books
combined with supply chain difficulties
impacted manufacturers’ needs to exhibit.
Indeed, most UK bus and coach manufacturers
are reporting increased utilisation of
production capacity.
Rising market demand means that the exhibition’s
organising team, the same responsible
for Euro Bus Expo, is gearing up for a positive
edition of this show in 2024. Meanwhile,
the UK’s primary bus and coach manufacturers
continue to aim towards pre-pandemic
production levels, and in some cases, exceed
them, with sales in the domestic and international
markets.
Alexander Dennis
“Our 2023 production capacity is almost fully
booked, and we have a reasonably healthy
level of forward orders for 2024,” says Paul
Davies, president & MD, Alexander Dennis.
The manufacturer’s capacity now includes
expanded production lines at its Larbert headquarters.
“Our manufacturing capacity
remains geared towards flexibility, which is
very important in times like this where there
is so much uncertainty,” explains Paul.
“We are using the investment in Larbert as
a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create a
world-class manufacturing environment and
we’ve done a lot of benchmarking and stress
testing. The installation of two production lines
at Larbert will add capacity for up to 700
buses per year, which will be useful as the
market in the UK continues to recover”.
For its domestic markets this year, Alexander
Dennis is focusing on its range of next
generation ZE buses, with the Enviro100EV
Equipmake
Electric drivetrain manufacturer Equipmake
continues to provide an increasing number of
repower conversion projects. Delivery of 12
vehicles to First’s York operation is ongoing,
converting Optare Versa models and providing
a range between 240 to 400 km. Meanwhile,
in South Wales, Equipmake has signed
an agreement with Newport Transport
to repower eight double deckers. This news
comes on the back of Equipmake’s London
trial of a New Routemaster with Metroline,
and discussions are ongoing about repowering
vehicles for a full route.
Internationally, Equipmake has a partnership
in South America with Agrale, providing an
electric powertrain for a new bus, which is
currently on trial in Buenos Aires. Equipmake
is also initiating repowering in Indonesia
with a local partner. “We’ve met our numbers
for this year, and next year, the target
will more than double,”, says Equipmake
managing director Ian Foley.
A new development for Equipmake is the
move towards the coach market. The company
has repowered a tri-axle Van Hool
T917 for Westway Coaches, providing a claimed
range of 350 km. The additional weight
capacity of a three-axle vehicle meant it was
easier to install the drivetrain system and
meet the weight targets, and with batteries installed
behind the rear wheels, luggage space
isn’t impacted. Two-axle repowering is also
possible, according to Equipmake, though
this would impact luggage capacity.
“A luxury coach can cost £500,000
(€581,000). For an operator currently looking
to buy a new vehicle, it’s quite a diffiand
the Enviro400EV double deck bus. For
the Enviro100EV, the company says that
pre-orders are in line with expectations, ahead
of opening volume orders when the new
model launches later this year, together with
the Enviro400EV. In line with this promotion,
the company is positive about future
demand in the UK.
“The UK bus market suffered from underinvestment
for a number of years pre-pandemic,
and, for the last few years, we’ve seen
very low levels of new bus registrations compared
to historic norms,” says Paul. “Clearly
there are a lot of changes at a bus operator
level that impact on new bus demand, but we
believe the fundamentals remain strong and
that investment in new fleet will return”.
International markets continue to be a key
element of the Alexander Dennis strategy.
This is led by the 82-seat Enviro500EV,
which the company is delivering to both
KMB and MTR Corporation in Hong Kong,
as well as ambitions beyond. “There is returning
interest in double deck transit buses in
North America, which we are excited about
and have taken new orders,” says Paul. “In
continental Europe, we are focusing on opportunities
for double deck buses tailored to
individual requirements, such as those we’ve
built for Switzerland and Berlin”.
Following involvement in Scotland’s
CAVForth driverless bus trials, reported as
the world’s first full-sized self-driving bus
service, what role will ADL have in the future
of driverless transit? “We expect interest
in autonomous capabilities for buses
to grow further over the next few years as
projects like CAVForth and the Dubai World
Challenge for Self-Driving Transport prove
Wrightbus sales for the year,
as of July, are 254 units, and
the group plans to build over
600 vehicles in total in 2023.
Over 90% of these will be zero-emission
buses, compared
to 64% last year. Over 90% of
its orders are for the UK and
Ireland, though Wrightbus
says it is in the process of
expanding into Europe.
No further news is forthcoming
regarding production
commencing at Switch’s
Valladolid, Spain plant. As of
July 2022, Switch planned
bus manufacture for the European
market to begin within
12 months.
the viability of a variety of use cases for the
technology,” says Paul. “Legal and operational
frameworks in different countries will
mean that transitions will differ, which is
why we’re developing flexible solutions that
can be tailored to local requirements.
cult decision because in a few years time you
probably won’t be able to run it in cities. An
alternative is to refurbish the coach and repower
it, giving a lower risk option than buying
a new vehicle”.
Ian says that, depending on battery capacity,
the cost of repowering a coach ranges
from approximately £170,000 (€197,700) to
£230,000 (€267,500).
Mellor
Since opening orders of its zero emissions
Sigma bus range in August 2022, Mellor now
has 150 zero emission buses sold or on order.
In addition, it plans to produce around 250 of
its Euro 6 diesel minibuses in 2023. To fit the
growing demand, the company is actively
investigating expansion of its manufacturing
capacity, which is currently centred around
its Rochdale plant. “The growth level into
2024 for Mellor is going to be very strong,
based on existing orders with a pipeline of
opportunities in the UK and internationally,”
says Gustavo Marqueta-Siibert, group business
development director for WNVTech,
Mellor’s parent organisation.
The company has a 50/50 split of sales
between the domestic and international markets.
In Europe, Mellor’s biggest contract has
been to supply 42 of its Sigma 7 models to
Connect Bus in Gothenberg, Sweden. Mellor
will shortly announce details of supply into
Canada, expected to start early next year.
This year, Mellor has also launched two
high-floor electric bus models that focus
on accessibility including a wheelchair lift.
Based on the Sigma 7, the vehicle can carry
up to seven wheelchairs, while the Sigma
9-derived version can carry up to 10 wheelchairs.
The company also expects to make
an announcement about the launch of its first
electric minibus in the M2 category.
Pelican-Yutong
Pelican Bus & Coach, Yutong’s UK impor-
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