UK’s £400m electric bus scheme accused of ‘subsidising China’

British manufacturers say current scheme is slowing net zero transition.

A£400m scheme set up to encourage the rollout of electric buses is effectively subsidising Chinese companies to the detriment of British ones, a group of transport businesses have claimed.

Under the so-called Zebra initiative, local authorities and bus operators can apply for grant funding to support the purchase of zero-emission buses. The Telegraph has the story.

It is part of the ‘bus back better’ plan unveiled by the Government during the pandemic and aims to finance the purchase of 4,000 buses, accounting for around one-tenth of Britain’s total fleet.

But some companies have complained that the bidding rules exclude projects to convert existing petrol or diesel-fueled buses into electric ones – while aiding purchases of vehicles that depend on Chinese manufacturers.

Businesses such as Sheffield-based Magtec, Scarborough-based Kleanbus and Norfolk-based Equipmake argue that converting existing diesel buses – a method known as ‘repowering’ – is a greener alternative than buying new vehicles.

But they say the Government’s grant scheme currently incentivises new bus purchases instead of repowering, effectively distorting the market.

Currently, about 70pc of electric buses being purchased in the UK are Chinese-manufactured or contain Chinese-made components such as batteries, according to an analysis of official figures by Magtec.

For example, the most common bus model registered in Britain now is the Enviro bus, which is built by Shenzhen-based BYD.

But Magtec and others say operators and local authorities should also be allowed to receive grant funding for repowering. A scheme comparable to Zebra already allows for this in Scotland.

Doing so would also speed up the transition to electric buses overall, they argue, boosting the number that come into service each year.

Read the full story here.