Pelican Engineering’s Landmark Electric Bus Contract

Furthering a United Kingdom Initiative Towards Net Zero

In a landmark move that will help to drive the country further towards the UK’s Net Zero goals, Pelican Engineering in Wakefield has signed a contract for up to 600 battery electric buses, supported by a £93.5 million funding package from HSBC UK. Supported by an extension of Pelican’s Green Loan and Sustainable Trade Instrument Facility with HSBC UK, this contract marks the important first step in a major transition towards zero-emission public transport across the UK.

The new agreement will have Yutong, the international electric vehicle manufacturer, supply the battery electric buses on behalf of Pelican Engineering. This order will take the number of Yutong buses on the roads in the UK to nearly 1,000, which undoubtedly demonstrates the increasing demand for sustainable and efficient transport solutions. The funding uplift follows an inaugural £60 million loan arranged in 2022, further underpinning HSBC UK’s continuous commitment to fund environmentally sustainable initiatives.

The latest order for vehicles covers single-deck buses under the names E10 and E12, over 100 long-range electric intercity coaches branded GTe14, 123 double-decker buses branded U11DD, and wide-body airside buses all fully electric. This is forecasted to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by the UK by 27,600 tonnes with all of them, a material contribution to the UK decarbonisation targets.

Commenting on the transaction, Richard Crump, Managing Director at Pelican Bus and Coach said: “With this Green Loan and Sustainable Trade Instrument Facility extension, we can continue to support the transition to zero-emission public transport and look forward to seeing these new buses serve communities nationwide.”

Scaling up for Sustainable Public Transport

These 600 electric buses from Pelican Engineering are intended for service deployment across multiple UK cities that will include Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and Leeds amongst others. Each bus will displace all of the carbon emissions otherwise generated by the equivalent of that many diesel cars being driven in our towns and cities and thus will deliver cleaner, more sustainable city transport options.

Widespread adoption of zero-emission public transport is a critical imperative of the UK's ambitious Net Zero targets, balancing greenhouse gas emissions with removal by 2050. Electric buses help to meet an urgent need for cleaner air and less noise in urban areas. It means quieter streets, healthier air for communities, and greatly reduced greenhouse gas emissions.

The Role of Green Financing in Achieving Net Zero

Green finance, such as HSBC UK’s Green Loan and Sustainable Trade Instrument Facility, has become a significant enabler for businesses pursuing a sustainable business model. HSBC UK’s choice to expand the availability of green loan facility for Pelican, in my view, is basically a critically important financial assistance measure for large sustainable projects that are at times more sensitive to the national decarbonisation goals, a prime example being transportation.

Indeed, both the UK government and its sector industries share the perception that the public transport sector— proven to be one of the greatest carbon emitters in the old economy— can have an important transitional role in the evolution of the low-carbon economy. Initiatives assumed by HSBC UK and Pelican Engineering are indicative of a best practice benchmark for environmentally friendly business behaviour within the transport sector and, by extension, to the attainment of environmental targets in Britain.

Impact and Benefits on Achieving a Net Zero Future

The recent contract for Pelican Engineering and additional support from HSBC UK highlights how corporate responsibility and sustainable finance can be brought to bear on climate challenges. Theirs will be among these 600 electric buses setting foot on streets across Britain very shortly: not only will they play a significant role in emissions reduction, but they will also raise awareness amongst British citizens regarding the tangible benefits of electric public transport. Public transport can play an even larger role in realising the UK’s Net Zero ambitions as more towns recognise the virtues of emissions-free buses on their streets.

To sum up, the electric buses being contracted by Pelican Engineering are a significant stride in the direction of the Net Zero future of the UK by providing environmentally friendly and more effective means of public transportation that will have a tangible environmental impact while also being a milestone for green investment in the public and private sectors of the United Kingdoms.