Malaysia-based Gemilang International Ltd (GML) will deliver 140 units of fully-electric school buses to California in 2022.
The Hong-Kong-listed company said it has been supplying electric buses to the US since 2016. “In fact, GML has been supplying bus bodies for various EV makers such as BYD and CRRC to several markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Australia since 2015, and we expect more countries to catch up with the transition to EVs as an increasing number of climate change mitigation commitments have been announced by governments around the globe,” said chairman and CEO Pang Chong Yong.
Pang said the deal for 120 units of 12-metre and 20 units of 7.5-metre school buses was not only a US-market breakthrough but also the single largest order of electric buses GML has ever received.
The electric school bus market in America is said to be enormous and has the potential for exponential growth. This is a result of the recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which is committing US$2.5 billion to buy electric school buses for districts around the US.
In the last five years, the Hong Kong-listed company has carved a niche for itself as one of the pioneering manufacturers of aluminum and electric buses using Swiss-based technology in Asia-Pacific.
“Our competitors are foreign bus manufacturers and our competitive advantage is our long-term relationship with international chassis suppliers such as Mercedes, Scania, Volvo, MAN and CRRC, and experience in providing aluminum bus bodies and superstructures for them,” Pang said.
Based in Johor, Malaysia, GML has designed and manufactured coaches and assembled buses for more than 30 years. Its notable projects recently include the Iskandar Malaysia Bus Rapid Transit, Sarawak’s first electric city bus for Kuching Metro, and an electric bus pilot project by the Sabah government for public transport.
GML has also been supplying aluminum buses for Go KL, Rapid KL, Rapid Penang and MRT feeder buses for the last 13 years.
