ADL bus models to be built in Australia under licence
Alexander Dennis Limited has announced a supply agreement to have its range of zero-emission buses assembled in Australia, for the Australian market.
Nexport, an Australian-owned supplier and producer of electric buses, will assemble bodies from the Alexander Dennis Enviro family on BYD chassis for its domestic market. Nexport will also lead the customer sales and service relationship.
ADL is globally renowned for its pioneering lightweight buses, incorporating a range of technology solutions and available to a variety of customer specification, which form the backbone of public transport networks in the world’s busiest towns and cities. It is now a subsidiary of NFI, based in North America.
ADL and BYD’s electric vehicle partnership has been a great success in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, where they have delivered and taken orders for more than battery-electric 1,000 vehicles and clocked up over 30 million miles of zero emission service.
The supply agreement will bring a range of new locally-assembled electric bus products, providing bus types that are currently not available to local bus operators in Australia. The first of the range released will include a 9.7-metre electric city bus as well as 11.6-metre and 12.5-metre models. The first buses are targeted to be on the road in early 2022 with volume production to be underway by the end of that year. Some components will be supplied manufactured locally, where this makes commercial sense, ADL told Bus and Coach Buyer.
Paul Soubry, President and Chief Executive Officer of NFI, said: “We continue to look for innovative ways to lead the evolution to zero-emission mobility around the world and this strategic partnership between ADL and Nexport will help further support that evolution in the southern hemisphere. Our electric buses and coaches have seen strong growth in numerous markets and through this partnership, our electric vehicles will now be available in five countries, with plans for further geographic expansion in the near future through ADL.”
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Paul Davies, President and Managing Director of ADL, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with Nexport in the Australian market as we believe that our globally renowned buses can help deliver the country’s decarbonisation agenda. This agreement with Nexport fits perfectly with our model of manufacturing close to our customers, supporting highly skilled local jobs and developing skills in green technology while adding value to local economies. We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Nexport who share our unwavering focus of delivering best-in-class customer support and outstanding quality.”
Michel van Maanen, CEO of Nexport, stated: “This agreement will be another significant boost to the Australian manufacturing renaissance. We are delighted to partner with Alexander Dennis who have been extremely progressive in the zero-emission bus space globally. For Nexport to be able to partner with such a strong global company, further demonstrates our business objective to bring the world’s best zero-emission mobility technology to our shores and manufacturing the products locally, by Australians.”