Foton Mobility Distribution’s contract with Transport for NSW is set to start reaping benefits shortly, with the bus manufacturer obtaining an interim factory in Nowra.
The temporary premises, covering 1900 sqm, will undergo several weeks of refurbishment and fit-out to prepare it for the arrival of the first batch of chassis and parts in mid-May, and to allow training of the new employees beforehand.
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Job adverts will shortly appear for the up to 15 staff required to operate the facility initially.
The new space will allow Foton to begin fulfilling its recently awarded contract with the NSW government where it is set to deliver 126 battery electric buses that will be built in Nowra and service bus routes across Greater Sydney.
A DA has been submitted to Shoalhaven City Council by its associate KRW Group for a permanent 6,000sqm EV bus factory that will see the manufacturer produce buses, battery electric trucks and hydrogen fuel cell engines.
The first EV buses are destined to roll out of the interim facility by mid-2025.
Foton’s bus contract was one of the first bus orders made through the NSW government’s Zero Emission Buses (ZEB) program. GoZero Group owns 50 per cent of Foton Mobility Distribution.
This program is also converting 11 existing bus depots in Greater Sydney to battery electric technology, building a new battery electric depot at Macquarie Park and procuring around 1,200 new electric buses by 2028.
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