HSBC funds Coatham’s electric Yutong coach

Coatham Coaches has brought what has been described as north-east England’s first electric coach thanks to a £500,000 equipment finance package from HSBC UK.

The business, which has been operating for 40 years, also used the funding to purchase a mobile EV charger to charge the vehicle on site. The new Yutong TCe12 from Pelican Bus and Coach takes eight hours to reach full charge and has a range of 170–200 miles.

Factoring in time to charge between runs, Cleveland-based Coatham Coaches aims to use the new vehicle as much as possible to reduce its impact on the environment. The new coach is expected to save an estimated 100,000kg of CO2 per year and the business plan is to buy a further four electric coaches by the end of 2024.

Mark Hodgson, Managing Director of Coatham Coaches, said: “We already have two fully-electric taxis but, with our fully-electric coach, we’re proud to take a further step towards operating more sustainably and investing in a greener future.”

Claire Welburn, Commercial Relationship Manager at HSBC UK, added: “Now more than ever it’s important to assist businesses on their journey to net-zero. We are proud to play a role in helping Coatham Coaches provide the first fully electric coach in the north east and transforming its business for the future.”

Coatham Coaches has tripled in size in the last five years, growing despite the pandemic. The business is home to 42 members of staff with the family still being very much involved in operations and interactions with its longstanding clients.

Established in 1980 by the Hodgson family, Coatham Coaches provides modern passenger transport with coaches, minicoaches and taxis.