Wrightbus has introduced four electric vehicles to expand its zero-emission product line. The Northern Irish manufacturer’s new offerings include six-metre and nine-metre buses, plus a 7.5-tonne truck available in both left and right-hand drive configurations.
The vehicles will be manufactured by King Long in China and distributed through Wrightbus’s new Rightech brand across the UK, Ireland, and Europe.
The company has secured initial orders and signed four letters of intent with service providers in Germany, France and Benelux. These complement its regional service headquarters in Brühl, Germany.
Wrightbus will support the new vehicles with its warranty, service, and maintenance package — backed by the UK’s largest fleet of mobile technicians.
Service Network Expansion
Rightech’s partnership with EV charger provider Sapphire adds 14 regional workshops in the UK to Wrightbus’s existing facilities in Ballymena, Bicester and Warwick. Ryze Power — part of Wrightbus owner Jo Bamford’s net zero portfolio — will provide charging infrastructure.
The launch follows Wrightbus’s emergence as Europe’s fastest-growing bus manufacturer, now employing 2,200 people across facilities in Northern Ireland, Malaysia, and service centers in the UK and Germany.
Wrightbus engineers invested more than 30,000 hours in testing, homologation, design, and validation of the new vehicles, which are based on strategic agreements with two Chinese manufacturers.
“We want to be a global mobility business and to do this we need to broaden our product portfolio,” said Wrightbus CEO Jean-Marc Gales.
“Wrightbus has been flying the flag for zero emissions long before anyone else. Our hydrogen double-decker was the world’s first and we have 1,700 electric buses on the road. These cover millions of miles across the UK and Europe with an in-service availability of 98.6%,” Gales added.
The company’s factory continues increasing production of full-size single and double-deck buses. “To meet demand in the zero-emission midi-bus sector, this partnership makes sense. The quickest way to decarbonise truck and bus fleets is to electrify immediately,” said Gales.
The expansion will create additional jobs and opportunities across Northern Ireland, the UK, and Europe, supported by Wrightbus’s portfolio of net-zero companies providing both products and infrastructure.
