Wrightbus identified a strategic opportunity to accelerate decarbonisation by converting existing diesel & hybrid buses to full electric power. To deliver this at scale, a new business — NewPower — was established to provide operators with a fast, cost-effective repower solution. Eastform Advisory was engaged to take the concept from initial mobilisation through to live production and first customer delivery.

Eastform Advisory led the end-to-end set-up of the NewPower operation. This included establishing the operating model, designing the production facility, & creating the technical and governance frameworks required to deliver a compliant, production-ready product.

Key responsibilities included the design of the plant layout and process flow to maximise efficiency, throughput, & quality; mobilisation of the facility to ensure full legal, safety, and regulatory compliance; and oversight of all technical arrangements, including testing, design validation, and certification. Eastform Advisory also led prototype build activities and managed the transition from prototype to repeatable production processes.

Beyond the factory environment, the role extended to supporting market engagement and customer confidence. This included overseeing vehicle demonstrations, trade shows, and client events, as well as managing early contract mobilisation and the delivery of the first repowered vehicles to operators.

A core focus throughout was ensuring that the speed of delivery did not compromise safety, quality, or compliance. The production model was designed to be scalable, repeatable, & commercially viable, while retaining flexibility to accommodate different vehicle types and customer requirements.

Wrightbus required senior commercial leadership to strengthen its UK order book and support a period of significant growth. Eastform Advisory was deployed on a nine-month contract to lead the UK bus sales function and align commercial delivery with manufacturing capability.

Assuming full responsibility for UK new bus sales, the role focused on securing forward orders across multiple platforms, rebuilding operator confidence, & ensuring sales commitments were fully deliverable. A key objective was to provide production certainty by rapidly converting pipeline opportunities into firm orders. Alongside traditional new vehicle sales, the role incorporated repowered and new-technology offerings into coherent customer propositions that aligned with operators’ decarbonisation strategies and funding timelines.

The results delivered during the contract period were exceptional. Within nine months, the entire UK production programme for 2025 was fully sold by May 2025, with 35% of the 2026 order book secured!