Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Welch, Adrian Morton, Kevin Carr, and Maxson Goh report from Euro Bus Expo 2024
Over three days from 12 to 14 November, Euro Bus Expo returned to halls 17, 18 and 19 of the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, bringing the industry together again for the first full-scale national event in the United Kingdom in two years. Naturally, CBW was on hand, with a stand of our own where we enjoyed plenty of positive engagement with our readers and advertisers alike, as well as industry friends and colleagues, whilst our roving reporters wandered the floor of the three halls.
Airconco
Airconco’s stand was located directly opposite the CBW stand, where it was a pleasure to speak to Managing Director and founder Justin Stott and his team. As is often the case, an expected brief conversation turned into something much greater. We were highly interested to find out about a new product from the company, Vee Vue. In summary, this is a box similar in size to a WiFi unit that would typically be installed in a bus or coach, but instead this plugs into the HVAC (heating, ventilation, air-conditioning) system and monitors its performance.
Parameters such as the cabin input temperature, compressor activation, fan and blower speeds, constant running or not running at all, can all be remotely monitored with an alert issued if one or more components of the system fail or show any signs of starting to fail.
This has many benefits, not least in reducing the amount of time a vehicle could be off the road in the event of a heating or air-conditioning failure. Monitoring provides the opportunity to pre-empt a total failure and if parts are required it should be known exactly what is needed, ensuring that a technician has the right parts to hand when attending on site.
It also affords a saving of up to 10% on fuel costs, as those systems not working correctly are inefficient, leading to an increase in consumption. Constant monitoring can also reduce servicing intervals, as if all is proven to be working well, little will be needed. With an annual rental cost of around £400 per unit, per vehicle, this could be a hugely cost-effective proposition when considering both the savings that could be made and the reduction in vehicle down time.
Airconco also displayed other products it has available on its stand, such as Webasto heater units and air-conditioning parts as well as details of the services it provides both directly and via its agents throughout the county.
Alexander Dennis
Stefan Baguette, Alexander Dennis’ group Marketing & Communications Manager, was upbeat on the company’s two-storey, colourful and welcoming stand.
The vehicle taking pride of place under the spotlights was the rather beautiful Enviro400EV in use on the famous Leeds-Harrogate route 36. It is a bus that you can sit comfortably on, even if you are tall. Also in the spotlights was the first showing of the new ‘big small bus’ in London specification, the Enviro100EV. The model is only 8.5m long and 2.35m wide but delivers a capacity of up to 45 passengers with up to 26 seats enabling provincial or urban options and suitability for global markets.
Alexander Dennis was extremely happy with the flow of customers to its stand and the general positive feeling about the sales environment looking forwards. The company is in discussions with what we could call ‘the Mayors’ of the big UK conurbations about new vehicles which will be needed for their various new bus services.
It is encouraging for Alexander Dennis that there is a desire to ‘buy British’ and the company is working hard to make that a reality for what could be significant orders if the delivery timeline can be smoothed, given its 1,500-a-year manufacturing capacity.
Stefan was keen to point to the effort going in to Alexander Dennis’ long term commitment to the technical and customer-service ways in which it provides vehicle-life support for its customers.
Alfatronics
Alfatronix launched some new heavy duty power delivery products at this year’s Euro Bus Expo. The chargers, which will be available in single C, dual C and AC charging configurations are “designed to give high-powered USB C Type charging to devices such as laptops and other high-powered equipment,” explained Claire Phillips, Alfatronix’s Sales Director.
“They can be installed into seat backs, and between the seats or under the seats, for all buses and coaches. They are designed to negate the need for AC mains on board vehicles, providing a much safer as well as more efficient method of charging.”
Alfatronix plans to make the chargers available from spring 2025, and they can be installed by engineers experienced with dealing with DC voltages, eliminating the need for an AC mains specialist. The company also manufactures wireless chargers, voltage converters, power supplies, low voltage disconnects and more.
Altro/Autoglym
Altro and Autoglym have been working increasingly closely together, both in the commercial world and on a mission to drive improvements to the industry as a whole through events such as the Transport Design Forum which offers a platform to users with difficulties using public transport to educate the industry, and a space for the industry to assemble and consider solutions to make buses, trains and their associated infrastructure more accessible.
Speaking about the company’s own new products, Altro’s Chris Edwards Thorne said it has put a lot of effort into developing its latest range of flooring materials, which have been designed to offer a greater degree of noise absorption whilst also being light, to help keep overall weight down and improve the vital overall efficiency of vehicles. Furthermore, he added, thermal efficiency has been a consideration, to help reduce the need for heating or cooling which can use vital extra power on electric vehicles.
The companies have worked together to design materials and products which enable the best possible cleaning with the least harsh chemicals, in turn helping to preserve the look of the flooring and also reduce damage caused to underlying components by harsh alkaline cleaning solutions. “The issues we’re addressing now are in their infancy as buses become electrified,” said Chris. “But if we make them as attractive as possible, people will travel again and again.”
Artel Rubber
With 38 years in the silicone industry, Artel is known for its quality and says it is now looking to increase its presence in the PSV sector. With the switch to electric vehicles, the importance of using good quality hoses in battery cooling systems, which are capable of withstanding the aggressive coolants used, is vital, the company says.
Speaking about the show, the company said it had been a fantastic experience, and given a valuable opportunity to meet with manufacturers and explain the benefits of its products.
Asset Alliance Group
Sales Director Darren Fitzpatrick and Commercial Director Martyn Bellis were on hand to help their many clients with the full range of financing options to suit operator needs, large and small. Darren joined when Asset Alliance acquired Forest Asset Finance in 2016 and is enjoying the growth opportunities that working within the bigger operation presents.
Asset Alliance Group is a subsidiary of Arbuthnot Latham bank. The company is successfully growing its coach and bus industry client base with a menu of finance solutions to get assets into the hands of operators who can profit from them.
With base rates coming down at the moment, the price of asset financing is reducing, making this potentially a good time to consider new vehicle acquisition from those manufacturers whose lead times are not too long.
Without going through all of the available finance products here, it is clear that Asset Alliance has the financial strength and ability to be a one-stop-finance-shop with either its own lending products or those brokered from its wide range of contacts.
Having realised the opportunity to expand into vehicle rental, Asset Alliance is already ahead of its planned growth in the market after just over one year. Its fleet is always close to 100% rented out and comprises products from Alexander Dennis, Volvo, Mellor and Temsa.
Ayats
A new product for the UK market, Ayats was displaying its first right hand drive Horizon double-deck coach, this one destined for Turners Coachways. Sales Manager Feran Stoke Vila explained that the 89-seat coach is built on a Scania chassis, and features fibreglass panels mounted on a stainless steel frame to ensure a corrosion-free body.
PSVAR-compliant, the coach has two staircases, and can be fitted with up to 91 seats. Ayats is working in partnership with Scania’s sales and service network in the UK, and plans to sell between seven and 15 of the type annually. From 2026, the company expects to sell a similar number of its over-deck model once that arrives in the UK market too; it is available to order now.
B.A.S.E.
B.A.S.E had four vehicles on display, illustrating both of its chassis partners, and both of its body partners. A pair of Beulas coaches included the impressive 13.9m Glory overdecker, based on a Scania K410 chassis and with space for up to 72 passengers, including up to five in the lower saloon area. Also from Beulas was the Cygnus, based on an MAN RR8 chassis. As displayed at the show, the coach was destined for Poppletons, whose airbrished colours it carried, and fitted out with the ability to accommodate up to eight wheelchair users.
Another MAN on the B.A.S.E. stand was a MobiPeople Premium, this time on a Scania K360 chassis, whilst the final vehicle in the line-up was a smaller 35-seat MAN TGL-based MobiPeople Midi Explorer.
B.A.S.E. reported good footfall on the stand, though lamented the fact that the show is now every second year, which seems to be a long time in between what it feels is an important opportunity to see customers face to face.
With full order books, the company says its MobiPeople 3+2 option is proving very popular for schools contract work, accounting for a large proportion of its vehicle sales.
Best Impressions
Best Impressions and Ray Stenning are well-known names in the coach and bus industry, recognised for their unique eye-catching designs and have attended every Euro Bus Expo since its inception.
“Branding, livery, interior, advertising, marketing, that’s what we do.” said Ray. “We are a design agency exclusively for public transport and we’ve been going for over 40 years. If you go to the ADL stand,” he said, speaking about the new Enviro400EV for Transdev, “they designed the bus of course but we designed all the fabrics, furnishings, the floor, seating material finishes. We’re proud of it.”
Best Impressions’ design extends beyond just the livery and interior; every detail, from timetables to maps, can be fully tailored to meet the customer’s specific needs. “I’m a great believer in making information look good so that someone actually wants to understand it, and we make sure they do by using very clear communication,” said Ray.
Bus & Coach Centre
CBW’s former Editor and now General Manager at the Bus & Coach Centre Richard Sharman was at the company’s stand, alongside sister business Universal Asset Finance. He explained that the company sees the show as an excellent way to interact with its customers, past, present and future, it affording many networking opportunities and said it is wholly worthwhile attending.
The business has a constant flow of vehicles coming in, most coming off lease, but also buses and coaches taken in part exchange. Current stock includes a selection of Caetano Levante IIs on both Volvo B11RT and Scania K410EB6 underframes. These are proving highly popular, being youthful high-capacity 56-seaters that are PSVAR complaint, meaning an operator benefits with one vehicle that is suitable for nearly all applications, including rail replacement, schools and private hire.
Incoming stock also includes two Euro VI Yutong TC9 midi-coaches with and without toilet facilities and two short length 8.9m Alexander Dennis Enviro200MMC single-deck buses with an overall capacity of 68 passengers, with 27 of the 30 seats being high-backed and three-point seat belted.
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