Alexander Dennis regained market leadership, which it lost temporarily to Volvo in 2017, and accounted for well over half the market while Volvo’s share slumped to only a fifth.
Volvo was hit badly by the slump in demand for hybrids, which fell by over 40% from over 890 to 514. Given that hybrids remain significantly more expensive than diesels, few were bought outside London, as fewer government grants are available towards their purchase. Nearly 95% of the hybrids were for Transport for London contracts for which hybrids were specified.
Despite the slump in the market, Alexander Dennis increased deliveries of its Enviro400 range by 4%, helped by an increase of 90 for Stagecoach to take its intake of them above 200. Go-Ahead was another large customer, also taking more than 200, which were similarly a mix of hybrids for London and diesels elsewhere, in this case its fleets on the South Coast.
FirstGroup is also increasingly choosing the Enviro400, taking more than 60 for its Glasgow and South West fleets. National Express remained loyal to the Enviro400, buying a further 70, including 14 SmartHybrids for Xplore Dundee. Abellio and RATP were additional customers for hybrids for TfL routes, while more …
