Wrightbus eyes European expansion

Former-BYD employee becomes new European Chief Commercial Officer for expansion in Europe

Wrightbus has set its sights on expansion across Europe and beyond with the appointment of a new European Chief Commercial Officer.

The company has brought Jean-Luc Deflandre onboard, who has more than 15 years of experience working in the European electric and hydrogen bus market. Multi-lingual Jean-Luc is a former Advisor to the Board of BYD and former Chief Commercial Officer of Ebusco. He is the founder and owner of a consulting company and guest speaker at the World Economic Forum and Energy Tech Summit.

“I’m already in high level discussions in several major European cities who are keen to have the very best zero-emission buses on their streets” – Jean-Luc Deflandre

Jean-Luc said: “I am delighted and excited to be joining Wrightbus at an incredibly important period for the company and for passenger transport as a whole. Wrightbus is leading the way in zero-emissions vehicles in this field and I am eager to bring my experience to bear across mainland Europe.

“I’m already in high level discussions in several major European cities who are keen to have the very best zero-emission buses on their streets.”

He joins the manufacturer as it prepares to double its output at its factory in Northern Ireland, as well as increasing production of electric and hydrogen buses to around 70% of its total output (up from 30% last year).

Buta Atwal, Wrightbus CEO, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jean-Luc to our team to support our ambitions not only to decarbonise public transport across the UK and Ireland, but around the world.

“Working at scale, Wrightbus has a clear plan in place to reduce the costs of the buses to be comparable to diesel for the total cost of ownership. We believe that zero-emission buses, manufactured in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, can and should be used and powered across the world.

“We already have a strong network of suppliers across Europe and we’re looking forward to building an equally strong customer base for our world-class buses.”

Wrightbus is now on track to employ more than 900 staff this year once its latest recruitment drive is complete.

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