This investment forms part of First Bus’s strategy to achieve a zero-emission fleet by 2035 and supports Bristol’s wider clean air goals.

Last year, Britain was the largest market for electric buses in Europe, a position that it owes in large part to a small company in the Yorkshire town of Castleford. In 2013, Pelican was appointed as the official UK and Ireland importer for Chinese manufacturer Yutong and began selling its buses and coaches; in 2020, the first battery electric Yutong vehicles were deployed in Britain. In the last decade, 2,000 Yutong vehicles were sold through Pelican, of which over 800 are fully electric. For those familiar with Pelican solely as an importer of buses and coaches, the company’s announcement that it would introduce a medium-duty truck may have come as a surprise. In fact, as I learned on a recent trip to the company’s premises in the north of England, the decision to enter the electric truck market represents a return to Pelican’s roots as the oldest family-owned truck dealership still in operation in Britain.

The Yutong T75e will come with an energy capacity of either 100 or 132 kilowatt hours, with the latter option providing a range of over 180 miles.

Stagecoach told Truck & Bus Builder that the 715 buses come from a range of different suppliers, including: Alexander Dennis; Wrightbus; Pelican Yutong; and Volvo Buses.

The orders came from Stagecoach Group and FirstGroup which has placed the largest single order (169 units) for Yutong electric buses in the UK to date.

Mobico’s ‘National Express’ coach service will test the coach during a four-week trial period, when it will operate on a route between Stansted Airport and London.

From March 21 until the start of June 2024, travellers will be able to hop on the Yutong TCe12 electric coach on a Flix Bus route between London, Bristol and Newport (South Wales).

The 1000th vehicle was one out of 17 ‘E12’ battery electric buses which were ordered by Transdev for Heathrow Airport Terminal 5.

The first batch of 12 ‘E12’ buses were revealed in late January to attendees from stakeholders such as Nottingham City Council and electric charging firm Zenobē.

The GTe14 is set to make its debut in the UK in the first quarter of 2024.

Jaguar Land Rover is participating in the scheme, trialling a Yutong ‘TCe12’ bus in its commuter service between Gaydon and Whitley, a round trip of 40 kilometres which amounts to 1,586 kilometres each month.

Yutong's official UK distributor Pelican supplied Cardiff Bus with 26 E12 buses, which now make up 24% of the public transport operator's entire fleet.