Two Hydroliners, assembled in Australia by Volgren from powertrain and chassis parts supplied by Wrightbus, will enter service in Brisbane, Queensland under French public transport provider Transdev.

Hofmann joins the bus manufacturer from the London Electric Vehicle Company, taking over from Buta Atwal.

The Northern Irish manufacturer received an order worth GBP81m from First Bus for 193 battery-electric buses, including single- and double-deckers.

Wright, who founded the company with his father in 1946, is credited with leading the design of the first British-built electric bus in 1999 and, in 2015, the world’s first fuel-cell electric double-deck bus.

Following on the back of a series of large orders, the Northern Irish manufacturer is looking to expand its workforce to more than 900 employees by the end of this year and to grow its sales department.

Werth will take up his role as Chief Commercial Officer alongside his current position as Managing Director of Fuze Finance, an asset finance company owned by Jo Bamford, who also owns Wrightbus.

Atwal will retire at the end of the year to pursue "personal interests", to be replaced by current CEO of London Electric Vehicle Company Joerg Hofmann. 

The framework agreement with the National Transport Authority for Greater Dublin provides for a firm order of 120 Streetdeck Electroliners and a total of up to 800 battery-electric buses over the next five years. 

The UK bus manufacturer signed an agreement for up to 60 Kite Hydroliner single deck buses to be delivered to bus operator Regionalverkehr Köln over the next two years.

The Northern Irish coachbuilder will supply Volgren with all the necessary components to assemble a hydrogen powertrain, so that they can be integrated into buses built locally in Australia.

Wrightbus plans to produce around 600 zero-emission buses next year at Ballymena, making up 70% of the facility's total vehicle output.

Grayson Thermal Systems has announced a revenue increase of GBP8 million with orders from OEMs such as Solaris, Skoda, and Wrightbus