EVM continues to build small vehicle parc with partner expansion

While some vehicle supply challenges persist in parts of the large coach market, smaller front-engined models built on the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and Iveco Daily bases are over their own stresses in that field. Dealers in those products report good availability and sales mirror that trend, with the recent Euro Bus Expo trade show demonstrating that strong business is there to be done.

Among parties leveraging the combination of buoyant demand and resurgent supply is EVM. Long a converter of Sprinters, EVM has more recently grown its partnerships with third parties that both convert that model and assemble coachbuilt bodies for it.

Products across the EVM Sprinter range thus now extend from minicoaches to mobility applications and the low-floor Cityline and e-Cityline. Provision of Iveco Daily-based vehicles by EVM has also expanded.

It has bolstered sales and support to back that growing range, and in 2025 the UK operation will move to larger premises. The current base near Horsham has already been outgrown, with space at a premium for vehicles and workshop activities as numbers have swung upwards.

The Iveco range in the UK expanded via the recent transfer from Connaught PSV of Ferqui dealership rights here that brings both the Daily-based Sunrise and the Sprinter-based Soroco, and Composite Mobility models on that chassis are also growing in scope.

AOS Isuzu midicoach products are doing well, and EVM is now also importer of the Karsan e-JEST battery-electric microbus to the UK and Ireland.

New premises coming in 2025 for EVM

Ground will be broken on the new premises at Billingshurst, around eight miles from the current Southwater base, in Q1 2025. EVM expects to move by the end of next year. The existing site is 0.7 acres and that at Billingshurst will be five times larger. EVM Managing Director Danny McGee notes that it will have room for 150 vehicles and an eight-bay workshop.

Need for such a further uplift in capacity is driven by vehicle volumes, Danny continues. “EVM began as a van converter and from that we have become a much larger business,” he explains.

Despite range additions, the Sprinter is still the bread-and-butter line. EVM’s own conversions from its Kilbeggan plant in Ireland account for 23% of all vehicles sold. Altas, the Lithuanian converter that is behind the Tourline minicoach and the Cityline low-floor minibus range, is at around 21%, with other suppliers covering the rest.

“We want to be in every segment for the Sprinter, and that is helped by us being a multi-franchise dealer,” Danny explains. EVM’s accessible product range in the Sprinter field is growing but the core minicoach element has also seen additional models in recent months.

“We can spread demand by not representing too big a part of any partner’s production,” he continues. “I do not anticipate adding further manufacturer partners beyond Ferqui and Karsan, although there is still a case for additional products.”

Indeed, a pipeline of those is in hand. Expansion of the range has been justified so far; in 2024 EVM will supply over 500 units, and it expects to do at least the same in 2025.

Sprinter partners growing quickly

EVM’s own Sprinter conversions and the Tourline minicoach and low-floor Cityline and e-Cityline minibuses from Altas have long been complemented by the coachbuilt Grand Tourer from Car-Bus. Demand for that product remains strong as the Sprinter range-topper. Around 30 are sold per year by EVM.

Another coachbuilt Sprinter-based model is the Ferqui Soroco, from the same manufacturer is the Sunrise on the Iveco Daily. Combined, Connaught was supplying around 35 Ferqui units per year to the UK and that figure is EVM’s target for 2025 onwards.

Iveco honours the chassis warranty where the Sunrise is supplied with 33 seats. As explained by a representative of Ferqui, that has been achieved via lightweighting of the body.

A new name to the EVM range is Tremonia Mobility. Formerly Mercedes-Benz Minibus GmbH, it was carved out of Daimler AG in 2022 and retains the established production site in Dortmund. Sprinter-based products in the Transfer range formed part of that deal. EVM now supplies the Transfer 45, with up to 22 seats, and the smaller Transfer 23, which is a 10-seat example.

Both have an OEM sliding passenger door and are seen as ‘belt and braces’ minicoaches by EVM. Danny describes them as “simple products” that fill a gap in its range, but he adds that those coming to the UK and Ireland have seen the base specification lifted with items such as wood-effect flooring. Tremonia employs around 250 people in Germany and its minicoaches are considered higher-volume products that are straightforward to convert.

Bus Concept, Forveda and Tri Bus are other new names to the EVM Sprinter line-up. Bus Concept supplies a high-specification M1 vehicle with eight passenger seats. Those within the rear area are captain’s chairs at no more than three abreast and the vehicle is targeted at VIP use cases.

The Forveda product is a high-floor accessible minibus for the local authority market. It carries up to 16 seated passengers or six wheelchair users. An initial five have been ordered by EVM.

Small, electric, and accessible among latest EVM additions

Also in the accessible Sprinter frame is the Tri Bus M1 minibus. It is a battery-electric accessible vehicle using the Mercedes-Benz eSprinter base with 81kWh of energy storage. The first example drove from Amsterdam to West Sussex on a single charge.

Up to eight seated passengers or four wheelchair users can be carried. Key to the Tri Bus product is how it mixes travellers in those categories. Four individual seats are along each side.

When not in use, they ‘fold and rotate’ to sit tight to the wall. Meanwhile, restraints for wheelchair users are stored flush within what Danny describes as a “magic floor.” When released, they allow rapid securement of those passengers.

As a lighter vehicle, the Tri Bus offering suits the OEM battery-electric base unit. For heavier models such as the e-Cityline, Elinta continues to supply an aftermarket driveline that has been lauded for its energy efficiency. Danny expects that EVM’s battery-electric products in classes above M1 will retain that arrangement for the long-term.

Metal not the only factor in growth

For Iveco Daily-based vehicles, the Ferqui Sunrise complements the Erener Revolution, which also brings up to 33 seats. Like the Sprinter line-up, Danny notes that there is no clash between those products. Each suits its own market segment.

Also using the Daily is part of the Composite Mobility range. That captures both accessible midibus and midicoach products, with the battery-electric eDaily as an option. Ferqui now builds Composite Mobility bodies for EVM on the Iveco using kits prepared in and dispatched from Ireland.

The first such example from Ferqui was recently completed and is a 29-seat midicoach on the eDaily. EVM handles Composite Mobility products on the Sprinter entirely in Ireland. It recently supplied 11 such diesel examples to a local authority.

The AOS Isuzu Grand Toro and Visigo models were recently upgraded, and the Karsan e-JEST brings a new concept that expands EVM’s zero-emission offer. It will suit applications including demand responsive transport. Enquiries for the e-JEST have already been received in both the UK and Ireland, and it is likely that the larger but still compact e-ATAK will follow.

However, Danny is clear that strong product support is as important to business growth as metal. He credits much of the expansion over recent years to aftersales provision. A move to Billingshurst will further help, but three mobile technicians provide a quick response where on-site attention is required.

They are based in Scotland’s central belt, the Midlands, and the South East, respectively. Each can work across all brands that form part of the EVM portfolio, including Ferqui as the most recent addition.

The recent appointment of Sam Prothero to specialise in sales of AOS Isuzu products is a further indicator of how that function may develop. “Sam has a national focus on those vehicles, and I expect our model going forward will involve specialist salespeople,” Danny adds. “We will employ a Karsan specialist. Sam is the start of that shift.”