It’s full speed ahead for Ballymena’s bus-building powerhouse Wrightbus — as the firm celebrates a whopping 50 million miles clocked up by its zero-emission fleet.
Thanks to its 1,800 strong army of clean, green machines now running across the UK and beyond, Wrightbus has prevented a staggering 85,000 tonnes of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere — the equivalent of taking thousands of cars off the road.
Bosses at the Northern Ireland-based manufacturer welcomed guests to their state-of-the-art Ballymena factory to mark the occasion, showing off the cutting-edge tech that’s putting the firm in the fast lane of the UK’s green transport revolution.
The company — which now employs nearly 2,300 people and supports 7,500 supply chain jobs across the UK — is on track to build a record-breaking 1,200 buses this year, with over 95% of them fully zero-emission.
Wrightbus CEO Jean-Marc Gales hailed the milestone as a major moment not just for the business, but for British manufacturing.
He said:
“To have reached 50 million zero-emission miles is hugely significant, not only in terms of the part we’re playing in helping to decarbonise the public transport sector, but also in terms of the fantastic growth that we’ve undergone over the last five years.”
“At Wrightbus, we’re bucking the current downwards trend that is currently happening across the UK’s manufacturing sector and that achievement is significant.”
“It’s important not to forget that as a business, we employed just 56 people in 2019. That number now totals more than 2,300 and that will rise to 2,500 in the next 9 months.”
From a handful of workers to a major green industry player, the Wrightbus story has become a blueprint for innovation and growth — with the company exporting across Europe to countries like France, Belgium, Germany, Turkey, the Netherlands and Ireland.
Gales added:
“We will also support more than 7,500 jobs in the UK supply chain by the end of this year.”
Wrightbus is also building zero-emission vehicles for major operators like Translink, with customers praising the firm’s pivotal role in cleaning up public transport.
Ian Campbell, Service Operations Director for Translink, said:
“Public transport is leading the charge when it comes to decarbonisation and we’ve worked closely with Wrightbus in bringing more and more zero-emission vehicles to our streets.”
“The 50 million miles landmark is something to be celebrated.”
With the wheels firmly in motion, Wrightbus is fast becoming the beating heart of the UK’s green bus boom — and it’s not stopping any time soon.
