Pelican Bus and Coach has started work to increase the size of its Yutong-specific National Parts Distribution centre in Castleford.
When completed, that expansion will take the existing building to 25,000 square feet. The dealership says that such growth will significantly uplift its holding of Yutong parts and allow up to £8.5 million worth of those to be held.
The construction was recently inspected by Yutong Europe CEO Jack Li (pictured, centre) on a visit to the UK. He was joined by Pelican Managing Director Richard Crump (pictured, right) and Group Aftersales Manager Chris Murrell (pictured, left).
Mr Li has expressed satisfaction with the progress made and reiterated the Chinese brand’s commitment to supporting Pelican in ensuring that “the highest standards of service and parts availability are maintained for Yutong operators in the UK and Ireland.”
Pelican says that additional space at the parts centre forms another key part of the dealership’s strategic growth plan. That has already included major investment in workshop and showroom facilities, while in September work will begin on an office expansion.
Mr Crump explains that extension of the parts centre relates to both the arrival of the GTe14 battery-electric coach and the need to increase range and breadth of stock for other vehicles.
That particularly applies for the GT12 diesel coach – which is seeing major sales success with FlixBus partner operators alongside other customers – but also battery-electric buses. The number of Yutong products from the latter field in service in the UK is set to grow significantly after major orders were taken from both First Bus and Stagecoach.
