Pelican Bus and Coach continues investment in Yutong
Pelican Bus and Coach has signed a new long-term agreement with Yutong capturing much of the remainder of the decade and it expects to supply around 250 vehicles from the manufacturer in 2023. That is further indication of the success of both brands in the UK passenger market.
News of the extended collaboration was revealed alongside details of other developments around Pelican’s sales and support provision for Yutong and planned updates to the vehicle range. January 2023 will see the opening of a new showroom and service centre that will be dedicated to Yutong. Staff numbers on the support side have been beefed up and the sales team has grown.
Meanwhile, a national Yutong parts distribution centre scheduled to open in October holds £2.8m worth of components and ultimately can accommodate £7.5m worth. It will also be the national hub for Pelican’s battery-electric chargers, stocking those rated at 20, 42 and 120kW, and house the growing team dedicated to supporting the Yutong range.
Additionally in place are nationwide service dealers and a growing number of regional service engineers. The scale of this investment has been made possible by the renewed long-term agreement with the Chinese manufacturer, says Pelican Managing Director Richard Crump.
All that complements range expansion. On the battery-electric bus front, the 8.9m E9 arrives in early 2023, and it will be followed by a 10.9m double-decker promising 385kW/h of energy storage. A first UK specification double-decker has been built in China and is undergoing testing. Once durability validation is complete, a demonstrator will be constructed and shipped to Pelican.
Head of Yutong Sales Ian Downie says that Pelican will be able to deliver the double-decker in 2023. It uses the established driveline from the E10 and E12 single-deckers, will carry a maximum of 80 passengers and builds on Yutong’s existing work with double-deckers in China and Singapore.
New coach demand mirroring electric bus, says Pelican
On the coach side, things are also developing. Simon Collins was promoted by Pelican to Sales Manager for Coaches earlier in 2022.
He reports that demand for new vehicles is “very strong” and that Pelican this year will see numbers close to those from 2019. That is partially caused by lower volumes during the intervening period and a resulting paucity of late used stock.
The breakdown of enquiries and sales is evolving. Since publication of the medium-term exemption approach to PSVAR, demand for compliant new coaches has slowed, Simon explains. The approach is now often to specify ‘PSVAR ready’. That entails fitment of an additional door and in most cases, destination displays, but no lift. It can be added later.
Equally significant is the growing traction for zero-emission coaches since late 2021. Simon explains that now, at least 30% of coach enquiries are for the battery-electric TCe12. The portable 42kW charger offered by Pelican that runs from a three-phase supply has opened more scope for the TCe12, he continues. That model recently received some modest styling tweaks.
On the diesel front, the TC9 midi has gained upgraded passenger and driver seats and an extension to the upholstery variants available ex-factory. The flagship GT12 tourer also has improved seats all round and it too has seen some modest styling changes. All GT12s arrive from China with a door to suit PSVAR in place.
Battery-electric technology continues to advance
A less well-known part of Pelican’s battery-electric range captures airside buses. It has introduced a new variant, the ABe14, and one has already been delivered to Newcastle International Airport, where it joins an earlier model. The ABe14 is 14m long on two axles and carries 110 passengers.
The ABe14 and TCe12 come with the Yutong Electrical Safety Standard (YESS), as do the E10 and E12 and as will the battery-electric double-decker.
In conjunction with lithium iron phosphate chemistry, Yutong believes that YESS offers great protection to the batteries.
YESS includes structural, thermal and parts protection and a constant nitrogen ‘blanket’ to mitigate any fire risk.
In addition to YESS, 24/7 monitoring of batteries has been introduced. Data is transmitted to Yutong in China and any abnormality can be flagged to the operator immediately. Work to prolong range in colder months has also been undertaken, with a fix installed to prevent the demister from being left running when vehicles are idle. Ian is thus confident that energy use will be lower this winter than the last.
Customer support at heart for Pelican Bus and Coach
A lot of positivity is coming from Pelican around its work in coach and bus. Richard is clear that a safety net through the pandemic period came via the dealership’s longstanding work with HGVs, but he says Pelican is particularly proud of the support it offers to customers. “We believe that it is as good as anywhere else, and in some cases, better,” he says.
Further bulk deliveries of battery-electric buses are in hand, including to First Bus, McGill’s Buses and Stagecoach in Scotland and Newport Transport, while two batches have arrived for the TrawsCymru network in Wales. All will be fitted out here; around 30% of the value of a Yutong battery-electric bus stays in the UK under that arrangement.
When a growing range and customer base is combined with major investment in support and a long-term deal with Yutong, the future for Pelican Bus and Coach looks stronger than ever. The full range of its vehicles will be on show at Euro Bus Expo at the NEC Birmingham between 1-3 November.
BASE to debut new MOBIpeople Premium 350 coach
At Euro Bus Expo, BASE Coach Sales will launch the newly developed MOBIpeople Premium 350 coach, with the first built on a latest-generation Scania K 360 NB chassis.
The 3.5m high, 12.5m long, two-axle coach sits alongside the existing Premium model. The main driver for the Premium 350 was demand for a high-specification model that offers good luggage capacity while also having flexibility to permit an increase in seating capacity via 3+2 conversion later in life, says BASE General Manager Nick Dodgson.
“We are seeing a number of clients wanting to keep to two axles where possible and eke out as much potential from this platform,” adds Mr Dodgson. He notes that the new model will come with "fresh styling for the executive market."
Destined for KB Coaches, the first MOBIpeople Premium 350 has 57 seats and a centre toilet, and is PSVAR compliant. It comes with a ZF EcoLife automatic gearbox and will be the 17th MOBIpeople coach delivered to the Gloucestershire operator by BASE since 2014.
Also to be displayed from the MOBIpeople range by BASE will be an Explorer on a Scania K 320 NB chassis for Meadway Coaches.
It is one of a pair ordered by the Birmingham operator that will be the business’s sixth and seventh MOBIpeople coaches. Both are 74-seat PSVAR compliant examples.
The third coach for BASE will be a 13.7m, tri-axle Beulas Aura on MAN RR4 chassis for J&B Travel of Leeds. It has 61 seats and a 16m3 luggage capacity, and it is PSVAR compliant.
Mr Dodgson adds that all the coaches that BASE will display at Euro Bus Expo – including the Beulas Aura – are available to order on both MAN and Scania chassis, and come with full UK and European aftersales support.
Euro Bus Expo will be held between 1-3 November at the NEC Birmingham. Register for free tickets here. BASE Coach Sales will be on stand J100.
Switch Mobility to assess potential for e1 in UK market
Switch Mobility will show its heavyweight e1 battery-electric single-deck bus (pictured) at Euro Bus Expo as it evaluates whether the model will suit the UK market. It will be one of three zero-emission buses on the manufacturer’s stand at the trade show.
The e1 debuted in left-hand drive form earlier in 2022. It will be such an example that is presented at the NEC. Switch initially did not plan to build the e1 for the UK, but Chief Marketing and Sustainability Officer Peter Freedman says that in the meantime, interest has been received from potential customers here.
“This will be a good opportunity to show the UK bus industry what the future of our vehicles looks like,” he explains. “We have already seen a lot of interest in the e1.”
Mr Freedman adds that building the e1 in right-hand drive format is reliant on a suitable enabling order from an operator partner. Transitioning the vehicle from its current layout to one that would suit domestic users is reasonably easy, he notes.
Alongside the e1 on the Switch Mobility stand at Euro Bus Expo will be a pair of battery-electric Metrocitys. One will be an 8.7m example and the other a 10.8m model. Updated batteries will form part of the Metrocity line-up.
Euro Bus Expo will be held between 1-3 November at the NEC Birmingham. Register for free tickets here. Switch Mobility will be on stand A50.