Order for 130 electric double deckers for ADL / BYD
Order for 130 electric double deckers for ADL / BYD
Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) and BYD UK jointly announced that their electric vehicle partnership will supply over 130 zero emission double deck buses Enviro 400EV to Zenobē and National Express. Part of the deal is the support with spare parts over a period of 16 years. The buses will help to make Coventry the UK’s first all-electric bus city.
The buses will enter service in Coventry from early 2023. It is the result of the city’s successful bid to become the country’s first all-electric bus city and take it a huge step closer to replacing around 300 diesel vehicles by 2025. Tom Stables, CEO of National Express UK and Germany, said: “Buses are already one of the cleanest ways to travel. National Express is making it even cleaner, cheaper and easier, so our new and existing customers can relax knowing that they are doing their bit for the planet if they leave the car at home and travel by bus.”
Zenobē is a EV fleet and battery storage specialist and will be providing Electric Transportation as a Service (ETaaS) to National Express, financing and managing the full turnkey solution that includes new BYD ADL vehicles, on-board battery replacement, charging and grid infrastructure, a second life battery system at the depot, software to optimise charging, parts, and full operational support. Steven Meersman, Co-founder and Director of Zenobē, said: “By retaining ownership of the vehicles and taking on the risk of switching to zero-emission, we are giving National Express the use of an electric bus fleet without the hassle of owning one, making the transition to a zero-emission fleet more financially desirable.”
The work builds on ADL and Zenobē’s existing work with National Express, previously providing charging infrastructure and batteries for 29 BYD ADL Enviro400EV electric buses in Coventry and Birmingham in 2020. The project will be financed partly through the partnership between Zenobē and National Express, with some investment also coming from a £50 million grant from UK’s Department of Transport. Paul Davies, ADL President and Managing Director, said: “The country will further benefit from the choice of 130 British-built vehicles that ensure money is reinvested into the manufacturing sector and local communities, where they support skilled jobs and apprenticeships at our own facilities as well as in our extensive supply chain.”