NETHERLANDS
Founder and CEO of Dutch e-bus manufacturer Ebusco Peter Bijvelds says his company is recovering well after the pandemic, with a significant increase in revenue, but is approaching the next few years with caution to ensure it remains on a firm footing. “2022 has been a year of recovery and expansion for Ebusco,” he said. “The year resulted in a sharp increase of revenue of 360% and strong growth of our order book which ended the year at 1,474 buses compared to 325 at year end 2021. This growth was mainly driven by the Deutsche Bahn framework and the commercial success of both the 12m and 18m Ebusco 3.0.
“Much of our growth can be explained by our people. We already learned early on that we have to be more efficient, smarter and different to outweigh the competition. Innovation is in the DNA of our people. Evidence of this includes the launch of the Ebusco 3.0 18-metre bus only a year after the first 3.0 was delivered, already resulting in 184 buses on order. It is a clear example of the non-hierarchical and decisive culture we have been able to foster. While the release of the 18-metre bus in 2022 may be the most telling example, the entrepreneurial culture is deeply rooted in our company.
“Ten years of experience allow us to make daily decisions based on real-road data, ensuring our solutions are well aligned with reality. Although we can be proud of many milestones, it’s equally true that we are facing ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and global supply chain constraints, impacting the number of buses assembled, shipped and delivered.
“In relation to the Ebusco 3.0, parts availability has triggered production inefficiencies as buses had to be moved in and out of the production line. For the Ebusco 2.2, high transport prices had a pressing effect on our profitability as did the resurgence of Covid-19 in China, forcing us to move part of our shipments from 2022 to 2023. Next, attracting skilled personnel is a challenge.
“The market for zero-emission buses continues to grow and our objective remains to produce 3,000 buses with the aim to reach this in the next five years. Given the supply chain disruptions and inflation we however feel it is more prudent at this point to lower our profitability goals to an EBITDA margin of 20-25% to be reached in the next five years.
“Focus for 2023 is to grow production capacity, further optimise our supply chains, and improve gross margin and operational efficiencies while keeping our innovation-based commercial momentum.”
