Jonathan Welch attended a pre-show press briefing at Pelican Bus & Coach to hear what the industry can expect from Yutong at Euro Bus Expo
It’s a name that’s gone almost from zero to hero in barely a decade. Yutong, having faced somewhat of an uphill battle against the perception of Chinese products when it first entered the UK market, has, with the help of dedicated distributor Pelican Bus & Coach, quickly become a significant player in the British bus scene. Leaving aside any political considerations, the products have stood on their own merits and spoken for themselves in the marketplace, with operators large and small taking advantage of the manufacturer’s cast experience of zero-emission bus manufacturing.
At a recent pre-Euro Bus Expo press event, Pelican Bus & Coach announced yet more development for the UK market with the addition of a further coach model to the range, the GT14, essentially a model which combines the bodywork of the GTe14 electric coach with a more conventional DAF MX13-powered diesel driveline. It’s a coach which opens doors for those operators which need something larger than the GT12, but cannot yet accommodate electric vehicles.
The worldwide stats are pretty impressive, and Pelican was keen to remind us that Yutong is not just a Chinese company, but a worldwide market leader, with some 10% of global market share in 2023, and a maximum production capacity of 60,000 vehicles per year. “Yesterday, we built 42 zero-emission buses,” said Pelican’s Head of Yutong Ian Downie.
Successful growth
Having been the UK importer since 2014, Pelican has sold 720 diesel coaches and 427 electric buses so far, and says it expects to have registered 1,500 vehicles by the end of 2025. It’s expansion has been rapid, with a second new showroom replacing the original, and a new parts warehouse opened to support the growing fleet.
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