The new three-axle vehicles will soon be taking shape, with assembly at Kiwi Bus Builder’s Tauranga factory scheduled to commence in the coming weeks, directly supporting local jobs.
Greg Pollock, Managing Director for Transdev New Zealand, said the move to support local manufacturing was crucial.
“New Zealand is on the cusp of a zero-emissions revolution, and wherever possible we want the future to be driven locally, by Kiwi manufacturers, creating more job opportunities in our community,” Mr Pollock said.
“The decision to build local was an easy one for us to make, given Transdev’s commitment to New Zealand, and to expanding our operations here, where we already operate metro rail and bus services in both Auckland and Wellington, as well as a transport on-demand trial in Auckland.”
New Zealand has set a target to fully transition its bus fleet to zero-emissions vehicles by 2035, with the goal for the country to be carbon neutral by 2050.
Sheryll Otway, General Manager of Howick & Eastern by Transdev, said her Drivers and team were excited to be operating more zero-emissions fleet in Auckland.
“The future for zero-emission transport in New Zealand is exciting and we are proud to be an ongoing part of this incredible journey, with the commissioning of these buses,” Ms Otway said.
“None of this would be possible without the support, vision and investment of Auckland Transport. We are certainly looking forward to working together over the coming years to provide new zero-emissions transport options to the people of Tāmaki Makaurau.”
The new state-of-the-art feet (concept design pictured below) will be built to meet New Zealand requirements, consisting of three axles and can comfortably transport up to 78 passengers.
Richard Drummond, Managing Director of Kiwi Bus Builders, said moves to support the local manufacturing industry were welcomed.
“Howick & Eastern’s order underlines our plans to support up to 100 local jobs with the assembly of electric buses in partnership with ADL, as we scale up our production to meet demand from Auckland Transport and elsewhere in New Zealand as the transformation to a zero-emissions fleet gets underway,” he added.
Tony Moore, General Manager for Alexander Dennis in New Zealand, welcomed the new order.
“We are delighted to extend our successful relationship with Howick and Eastern to clean electric buses which have been tailored to the requirements of bus operation in this country. This would not have been possible without the close collaboration with Kiwi Bus Builders as well as with the team at BYD Australia,” Mr Moore said.