Jonathan Welch pays a visit to Cambridge to get behind the wheel of one of Whippet’s Mellor Sigma 12 electric buses
It’s been a long time coming, but having tested Mellor’s Sigma 8 in May 2023, I finally managed to find time to get behind the wheel of its larger cousin the Sigma 12 this month. It’s probably one of the more unusual test drives we’ve done, not in terms of the vehicle itself but in the story around it. When I drove the Sigma 8, the test highlighted the introduction of a new range of electric buses by Rochdale-based Mellor.
As is well-known, the company has seen some trials and tribulations in the intervening eighteen months, having entered, and been bought out from, administration in late 2023. As a result, the Sigma range was discontinued after a relatively short lifespan, the company returning to its previously successful formula of small, diesel-powered buses for the welfare and local service sectors.
When launched in 2021, the Sigma range was a surprisingly large addition to the hitherto minibus conversion-based range offered by the company. It offered a range of six electric buses, in increasing lengths from seven to 12 metres, with a longer 13.5 metre variant also added in late 2023 to meet the requirements of the Scandanavian market, whilst all other length options were also available in left-hand drive format.
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