UK – With the news that UK commercial vehicle contract hire and leasing specialist, Asset Alliance Group (AAG), is heading into the coach rental market in 2025, it was no surprise that it attended the Euro Bus Expo, held at the NEC in Birmingham from November 12 to 14, 2024. The company has not been shy about its aim to double its turnover in bus and coach from GBP500m to GBP1bn in the next three years! The company has provided specialist financial solutions for the bus and coach industry for more than 20 years and has now invested in a fleet of top-of-the range coaches for renting and leasing to operators.

We spoke to Martyn Bellis, Commercial Director of Bus & Coach at AAG earlier this year, when he told T&BB that the 2024 timeline for coach rentals had been delayed due to the limited amount of new coach stock currently in the market. The delay came as Volvo Buses had been winding down its bus and coach body on chassis operations in Wrocław, Poland and moving its body-building operation to Sunsundegui SA, of Alsasua in Spain. This had limited Volvo’s stock of both its 9400 and 9700 coaches for the UK and other markets. The company will initially offer Diesel ICE coaches for rent with the intention of offering battery-electric coaches in the future, depending on market demand.