Zero emission specialist to purchase BusTech

GoZero Group’s bid to acquire leading bus manufacturer, BusTech, is in its final stages, pending green lights from the Queensland and South Australian governments. 

The acquisition is a huge boost to GoZero Group’s Australian bus manufacturing capability, with BusTech’s factories in South Australia and Queensland to sit alongside GoZero’s Nexport bus factory in western Sydney. 

“This is an important acquisition for GoZero Group. Not only will it increase our opportunity to service the growing national market for low and zero emission buses, but it will protect local manufacturing jobs in both Queensland and South Australia at a time when the employment market remains uncertain,” said GoZero Group Managing Director, Stephen Cartwright OAM. 

“We need the state governments to demonstrate their ongoing support for the transaction to ensure that the workers remain employed in Adelaide and Brisbane, and to ensure that BusTech remains a local bus manufacturer for many years to come.” 

Cartwright also said the acquisition of BusTech would go a long way towards solving the local bus manufacturing sector’s ‘chicken and egg’ problem, where governments often expect manufacturers to have already invested in scaled capability prior to being offered new bus orders. 

“Having a strong and predictable pipeline of bus orders is the key to the sustainability of local bus manufacturing, the creation of jobs and the renewal of the public transport fleet with low and zero emissions buses.” 

GoZero is now rapidly scaling up to meet increasing demand from state governments, councils and the private sector. 

“This acquisition is a testament of great confidence in the future of the bus manufacturing sector in Australia, and the message to all tiers of government is clear, ‘we support a Future Made in Australia, and we stand ready to help you reach your strategic zero emission targets’ and provide safer, cleaner public transport for all Australians,” he said. 

“For every bus we build in Australia, five Australian jobs are created or retained. Buses are the most used mode of public transport ahead of all other modes. 

“In NSW alone, buses account for well over 40 per cent of all public passengers, making over 300 million journeys a year.” 

BusTech was established in 1995 and currently has factories in Rocklea (Qld) and Edinburgh (SA) and over 100 employees.