An exclusive conversation with the engineers behind the Wrightbus’s groundbreaking truck repowering programme; CTO Paul Thomas and Programme Director James Bishop.
Wrightbus has come a long way from its roots as a Ballymena coachbuilder. Today, the Northern Ireland based manufacturer stands as the UK’s leader in Bus Manufacturing and Repowering while now moving into Truck Repowering too. Standing as largest buyer of commercial vehicle batteries and employing over 2,300 people across Europe, the company is going from strength to strength. With a track record that includes creating the world’s first hydrogen double-decker and the iconic London Routemaster, the company has consistently pushed boundaries in zero-emission transport. Now, they’re applying their decade of electric bus expertise to revolutionise and Repower the truck sector.
James Bishop and Paul Thomas. Image: Fleetpoint, all rights reserved.
Following the unveiling of their first repowered electric truck – a 19-tonne DAF that promises to shake up the commercial vehicle market – Ian Smith, Fleetpoint correspondent, sat down with CTO Paul Thomas and Programme Director James Bishop at Wrightbus‘s Ballymena headquarters. What emerged was a fascinating insight into the engineering challenges, strategic thinking, and sheer determination required to bring this project to life.
The Battery Challenge: Staying Ahead of the Technology Curve
When I raised the first fleet manager concern about battery technology advancing every six months – with the industry regularly announcing breakthroughs – Bishop offered a refreshingly pragmatic perspective. “This is why I think repowering is the right solution,” he explained. “Your capex cost is quite a bit lower than a new EV, so if you invest in something and in three or four years the battery technology does make a big jump, you haven’t got massive capex to carry on with.”
The repowering approach, at roughly half the cost of a new electric truck, allows operators to benefit from electrification without the commitment anxiety that comes with high-value new vehicle purchases. Thomas added that as the UK’s biggest battery buyer, working closely with CATL, they’re constantly monitoring technological advances. “When we bring in new batteries to bus, we’re obviously going to be at the forefront of commercial vehicles, we’ll just transfer that internal knowledge across to trucks,” he noted.
Engineering Reality: It’s All About the Packaging
Ask most people about the biggest challenge in converting a diesel truck to electric, and they might guess software integration or motor compatibility. Bishop’s answer was surprisingly straightforward: “It’s definitely packaging.”
“The vehicle’s designed for an ICE engine. If you can’t get the batteries in, then you might as well walk away,” he explained with the matter-of-fact tone of someone who’s faced this challenge and won through in the end. “The batteries are quite big. They’re not small, and they’re very heavy.”
Bishop spent months working with their proof of concept team, carefully planning where to position the 282kWh battery pack while maintaining proper axle loading. “Some vehicles simply can’t be converted – there’s not enough space or the weight distribution becomes impossible.” But for the DAF platform they’ve chosen, the packaging puzzle has been solved.
Image: Fleetpoint, all rights reserved.
Real-World Performance: Beyond the Brochure
Fleet managers know the frustration of manufacturer claims versus real-world performance. When I pressed them on actual road testing with full loads, Thomas revealed they’re not starting from scratch – they’re leveraging years of proven bus data.
“We’ve got a very robust efficiency model from our buses, and the powertrain is exactly the same,” Thomas explained. With Wrightbus running hundreds of buses on UK routes, they have massive real-world datasets tracking actual energy consumption, passenger loads, and route profiles. “We’ve got really good correlation between simulation and reality. In fact, the simulation is always a bit more pessimistic than what the real world delivers – we’re confident we won’t be a million miles away.”
This data-driven approach extends to their sophisticated modelling. The team works with Queens University Belfast and can simulate specific routes down to individual hills and loading patterns. “Whether it be TfL or York, we can take that route, work out what the hills are, what the route card is, when it runs,” Thomas noted. “We’re getting real feedback from buses on those routes with the loadings in normal use.”
The proof of concept vehicle is now entering real-world trials, with demonstrations planned where operators can test with their own typical loads. Crucially, Thomas highlighted an often-overlooked advantage: most 18-19 tonne trucks operate well below maximum capacity. “They don’t carry bulk and they don’t carry a lot of mass. Nobody really goes around at full mass all the time,” he explained. This means the 290km range figure is conservative – many operators will see better performance in typical daily use.
Image: Fleetpoint, all rights reserved.
The Supply Chain Question
With ambitious plans to scale production, I wondered about battery supply constraints. Could CATL keep up if Wrightbus suddenly needs batteries for 30 trucks a week alongside their bus production?
Thomas’s response was revealing: “If we went to CATL and said we want to double our purchase, they’d build that next week. We’re big volume in the UK, but compared to what CATL outputs, we’re quite low.”
This highlights an important advantage – Wrightbus’s established relationships and purchasing power in the battery market, built over a decade of electric bus manufacturing, directly benefit their truck conversion customers.
Manufacturing Confidence
Many innovative transport companies stumble at the production stage. When I raised this concern, both engineers pointed to their existing infrastructure as a key differentiator. “We’ve got two sites – Ballymena for prototype work and Bicester for volume production. The processes we use are all understood and exactly the same,” Thomas explained.
Bishop added a crucial point: “We’ve already got a repower business which we do on buses, so we know exactly what we’re getting into. The processes are all in place.”
With manufacturing slots already scheduled for Q1 2026 and a comprehensive aftermarket support network through their partnership with SVS, Wrightbus appears to have avoided the common startup pitfalls that plague new entrants to the electric vehicle market.
The Bottom Line
What struck me most during our conversation was the pragmatic engineering approach combined with deep market understanding. This isn’t a Silicon Valley-style disruption play – it’s a methodical application of proven technology to solve real fleet problems.
The total cost of ownership model they’ve developed factors in everything from the second-hand diesel truck value to reduced brake wear from regenerative braking. With the repowered truck costing less than half a new electric vehicle and conversions taking just four weeks, the proposition is compelling for urban delivery fleets facing Clean Air Zone charges and ESG pressures.
As Bishop concluded: “We can’t think of a reason why people won’t do it. The price is at a point which is reasonable, and you’re not investing massive capex into new vehicles which you don’t necessarily want.”
For fleet managers watching the slow pace of truck electrification – still under 1% of new sales – Wrightbus’s repowering solution might just be the catalyst the industry needs. With their first repowered trucks hitting the road in early 2026, we’ll soon see if this Northern Ireland engineering team has cracked the code for commercial vehicle decarbonisation.
For more information about Wrightbus’s truck repowering programme, fleet managers can contact the company through their NewPower division in Bicester
