Zenobē, an EV fleet and battery storage firm, has announced a partnership with Airsym, a transport provider for airlines, airports and ground handling companies, to launch into service a brand-new Yutong TCe12 electric coach.
The coach will be used as part of a shuttle service for McLaren Automotive, transporting staff from Woking train station to the company’s headquarters during the working week. On the weekends, it will be the first electric coach to operate airside at London Heathrow airport, shuttling airline crew to local hotels.
In its first step into the coach sector, Zenobē will be providing the financing and a managed service for the on-coach battery over the course of eight years.
Steven Meersman, co-founder and director of Zenobē, said: “We’re thrilled to be expanding into the coach sector and embarking on this journey together with Airsym. The coach industry faces several unique challenges to decarbonisation but through the right partnerships, it can today make the first step on this journey.”
With the coach sector only at the beginning of its electrification journey, despite ambitious commitments from the industry and government to reach net zero by 2050, this project marks an important step towards greener, cleaner transport, Zenobē said.
The decarbonisation of the coach industry will play a crucial role in the UK’s journey to net zero and in cleaning the air of the nation. Coaches already provide a sustainable travel option, taking personal vehicles off roads. Transitioning coach fleets to zero emission alternatives could save around 56,000 tonnes of carbon over the next decade and reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides equivalent to £225m in public health damage cost savings.
Allen Jey, managing director of Airsym, added: “We’re delighted to add this new electric coach to our fleet and offer our customers a cleaner way to travel. Electrification is clearly the direction the industry is moving in, and we look forward to working with Zenobē, drawing on its expertise and extensive experience, to make a step on this journey.”
