Nexport dumps electric bus factory plan – report

A company planning to build a $700 million electric bus manufacturing plant in the Southern Highlands of New South Wales has abandoned its plan following unsatisfactory negotiations with the state government,

ABC reported that Nexport had failed to secure certainty about the project from the state government and scrapped the plans.

In 2020, Nexport announced it would build the factory on 51 hectares of land at Moss Vale to match plans by the state government to electrify its fleet of 8,000 buses.

But the two industrially zoned blocks slated for the development, were put up for sale this week.

A Nexport spokesperson said in a statement: “Unfortunately, despite numerous attempts to engage with government over the past year we have not been able to secure any certainty regarding the 8,000 buses across NSW that need to be transitioned.”

The decision came in the same week as rival bus maker Custom Denning announced it had received a $70 million order from the state government to design, manufacture and assemble 79 new electric buses.

Premier Dominic Perrottet and transport minister David Elliott toured the company’s St Mary’s factory to inspect the production line where the Element e-buses would be built.

Nexport is part of the TrueGreen investment group.

Nexport has partnered with several international OEMs including China’s BYD group to assemble electric buses at a facility in western Sydney for delivery to the NSW government and the ACT.

In 2021 it teamed up with electric vehicle charger manufacturer Tritium to make electric buses in Brisbane, and it also has a partnership with aerospace composites manufacturer Quickstep for the manufacture of lightweight components.

Picture: Nexport

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