26-coach MoD order for Irizar UK
Irizar has completed the handover of 26 coaches into the Ministry of Defence, delivered to sites across the UK. The batch comprised of x21 14m i6 and x5 12.9m i4, built to an exacting MoD specification.
The project had multiple stakeholders, with Babcock International managing the procurement process on behalf of the MoD via competitive tender, and Novuna Vehicle Solutions being selected as the Lease provider.
Andrew Blundell, Managing Director of Irizar UK, commented “it has been a pleasure to work closely with the teams at Babcock and Novuna, and successfully deliver the first Irizar coaches into the MoD. By committing to detailed evaluation of different options, we have been able to deliver a specification which optimizes the MoD’s unique requirements around passenger seat numbers and payload capacity”.
The 14m i6 coaches have 59 passenger seats, and have been built with PSVAR preparation to protect future residual values. The i4’s, specifically selected for their lower overall height due to access restrictions at a number of locations, have 51 seats and also PSVAR prep. All the coaches are supplied with the DAF engines paired with ZF Traxon transmission, and are HVO compatible. This was particularly important in the selection criteria, with the use of HVO offering a 90% reduction in CO2 emissions.
Matt Strickland, Optimisation and Implementation Manager for Babcock International commented “Babcock are delighted to be working with Irizar delivering this vital capability to the MoD. Throughout the process the Irizar Team have been proactive and customer focused, understanding the specific requirements of the MoD. Reducing CO2 emissions, maximizing payload / seat numbers and minimizing through life costs were 3 very important customer requirements, working with Irizar we have delivered a 1st class product to end users.”
After successfully being awarded a vehicle leasing contract for the Ministry of Defence, Novuna has worked closely with all included parties to deliver high quality coaches to the MoD. Toby Carter, National Business Development Manager for Novuna Vehicle Solutions remarks “This has been a seamless process from order through to user delivery, including our own thorough predelivery inspections, and driver training on handover of all these new coaches. Everyone in the process has been very satisfied with the outcome and we have received excellent user feedback, so a great job done by all involved.”
Winning a public sector tender and delivering into the MoD is part of Irizar’s strategic road-map as Andrew explains…“when I was appointed in March 2020, diversification of the customer base and volume growth were two very clear objectives. COVID put a 30 month dent in our timeline, but I’m delighted that Irizar in the UK is now actively engaged in supplying units into the larger fleets and the public sector. Whilst the “retail” market will remain vitally important to us, our successful divergence into larger volume deals will deliver critical mass into our business, and strategically underpin our medium term plans for the UK market as we embark on the next exciting phase of our growth.”