Wrightbus has converted its first diesel truck to electric, namely a 19-tonne twin-axle DAF. The manufacturer is thus expanding its repowering business for buses to trucks, hoping to push for more electrification in the sector. The current CEO Jean-Marc Gales will also take on a new position for Wrightbus in December.
As mentioned above, the truck that Wrightbus’ repowering business NewPower converted was a diesel truck from DAF. According to the press release, the vehicle “was chosen for its remarkably similar duty cycle DNA to a bus – urban deliveries with fixed routes and back-to-base.”
NewPower was launched in June last year to convert diesel buses to electric, a cheaper alternative to buying a new electric bus. The same can now be done with trucks. Wrightbus states that “the proven Wrightbus BEV powertrain has been adapted to suit, with more than 90% commonality of parts.”
For the buses, the diesel engine is swapped out for a Voith Electric Drive System (VEDS), NMC battery packs, and a Grayson HVAC system. All that takes about three weeks and is done at NewPower’s Bicester factory. In case of the truck, it has been fitted with a “282kWh battery, capable of a range of 290km.” Re-powering a truck will take about four weeks, the engineers say.
“Buses have led the way in decarbonisation for the last two or three years: year-to-date sales of new buses in the UK are 75% zero-emission, but trucks are lagging way behind, with less than 1 per cent of the sector switching to EV,” explained CEO Jean-Marc Gales. “We believe that repowering is the simplest and most cost-effective way to ignite the market and our incredible Wrightbus engineers have more experience than anyone else in replacing internal combustion engines with electric powertrains.”
The new venture is forecast to create more than 160 jobs over the next two years, strengthening the company’s role in zero-emission transport. Wrightbus already employs over 2,300 people worldwide, with service centres in Ballymena, Coventry, Bicester, Brühl in Germany and Selangor in Malaysia.
Moreover, there will be some changes to management in the future. Now-CEO Jean-Marc Gales will become Deputy Chairman from 1 December, “to focus on the company’s strategic global development.” Gales has held his current position since 2023. It is not yet clear who will take over as CEO.
Wrightbus owner Jo Bamford welcomed the Gales promotion. “Jean-Marc’s relentless focus and passion for continuous improvement, supported by the whole Wrightbus team, has set the standard for our industry to follow,” he said. “There is no time to stand still, and we are laser focused on the next stage of our growth.”
wrightbus.com (repowering), wrightbus.com (Jean-Marc Gales)
