(Yicai Global) Oct. 18 -- Zhengzhou Yutong Bus, a private vehicle maker based in Henan province, delivered its 500th bus in the UK yesterday, marking a milestone in the firm's acceleration of its overseas market expansion, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Yutong Bus and UK heavy-vehicle dealer Pelican Engineering held a delivery ceremony for the 500th bus in Leeds yesterday. Yutong has the third-largest market share in the UK's tourist bus sector, followed by Daimler-Benz and Volvo Cars, Li Kejie, Yutong's West Europe manager, said at the ceremony.

Go North East, the largest operator of bus services in Northeast England, has bought nine battery electric E10 buses this year and will run them on its star routes in downtown Newcastle next year as part of a new plan to ease the UK's air pollution, it said. The bus operator was the first in the UK to run Yutong electric buses.

Yutong, which entered the UK in 2013, has delivered 500 vehicles in just five years, surpassing market expectations, Richard Crump, general manager of Pelican Engineering, said, adding he believes that the 1,000th vehicle will take less than another five years to reach.

Founded in 1993, Yutong Bus was the first bus manufacturer listed in mainland China, going public in 1997. The company has become the world's leading new energy bus maker, with global sales exceeding 120,000, Li said.
Editor: Ben Armour