Wrightbus has announced the launch of a new range of Rightech light battery-electric buses from a strategic partnership with King Long, and an ambition to take the company to new levels of growth worldwide.
On 28 January the manufacturer unveiled the first fruits of that partnership: Two buses in 6-metre and 9-metre lengths. A 7.5 tonne truck in both right- and left-hand drive variants was also announced; that is through a partnership with a separate Chinese manufacturer.
CEO Jean-Marc Gales has also confirmed to routeone that a Wrightbus hydrogen coach – for which a driveline has already been demonstrated – is planned to enter the market by 2026.
The two buses are dubbed the RB6 and RB9. Those Rightech models come delivered from King Long in China having undergone “30,000 hours of fine tuning” by Wrightbus.
The 6-metre RB6 comes fitted with an 89kWh battery achieving a claimed range of at least 112 miles/180km, and can be charged from 20-80% in 37 minutes. Passenger capacity is 22. Meanwhile the larger RB9 (below bottom) can carry 57 passengers and is fitted with a 282kWh battery achieving a claimed range of 187 miles/300km. Charge time for that vehicle is 1 hour, 24 minutes. The manufacturer has already confirmed four orders for the 6-metre bus, to be announced shortly.
Wrightbus promises a total cost of ownership saving over diesel of 11% for the RB6 and 7% for the RB9. Both will be “competitively priced” and hints are made at a broad level of customisation.
The RB6 and RB9 are being sold under a new mobility brand called Rightech, which will exclusively sell battery-electric vehicles. They will be backed by Wrightbus’ AllServiceOne network and warranties —a 2-year, 200,000km vehicle warranty, a 3-year, 100,000km warranty for the e-drive system, and an 8-year, 400,000km warranty for the battery.
According to Mr Gales, the move to sell white-label buses under the Rightech brand, backed by OEM sales and marketing, the Wrightbus service network and telematics software, gives Wrightbus an advantage over pure Asian imports. It will also expedite decarbonisation by offering a flexible product with shorter lead times, which he says stand at around 4.5 months for the Rightech products.
All is set to be supported holistically by Ryze Power, Wrightbus owner Jo Bamford’s portfolio of net-zero companies, with ambitions for a network of charging infrastructure, solutions and expertise.
Mr Bamford says: “Each one of my businesses is focused on energy transition, from vehicles, hydrogen and sustainable fuels through to supply, distribution and infrastructure. But operators need to act now with affordable solutions in front of them. Rightech has the answer – offering an incredible product with the backing of Britain’s best bus manufacturer.”
Mr Gales adds: “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, covering millions of miles across the UK and Europe with an in-service availability of 98.6%.
“However, we want to be a global mobility business and to do this we need to broaden our product portfolio. Our factory continues to increase production of full-size single and double-deck buses but 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. Rightech will solve these problems, backed by our portfolio of net-zero companies – supplying everything from product to infrastructure – which will provide more jobs and opportunities for our workforce in Northern Ireland, the rest of the UK and Europe.”
More information will be available in the February edition of routeone.
