Inside Ebusco’s wild week of court cases and his “Change Plan”

European bus manufacturer Ebusco has unveiled its new ‘Turnaround Plan’ to rectify its precarious financial situation after losing a crucial court case in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Earlier this week, bus operator Qbuzz was able to terminate its agreement with Ebusco to buy 45 electric buses after Ebusco initially launched legal proceedings to receive payment.

Ebusco said on October 21 that the loss of the order “would put a significant strain on its working capital position”, with plans to raise up to €36 million through a rights offering.

The legal proceedings came after Qbuzz canceled its order for 59 buses, 45 of which are 12m buses.

Following the court decision, the pre-judgment attachments on some of Ebusco’s bank accounts have now been lifted, allowing Ebusco to regain access to those accounts.

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At its shareholder meeting that took place after the court case was lost, Ebusco announced a third-quarter trading update and more details on its “Turnaround Plan,” with the decision to become a original equipment design (OED) manufacturer that designs and engineers its models in-house before contracting manufacturers to produce the vehicles.

This also means that Ebusco will continue to focus solely on the European market for its sales and marketing, with the aim of achieving a gradual increase in the monthly running rate to 40-50 buses by the end of 2025, together with with a structural reduction in annual costs of approximately 30 million euros.

The meeting also saw CFO Jurjen Jongma resign following the conclusion of the court case, with Jongma having been on board for two rounds of capital injections.

“Ebusco is going through a very difficult phase. Despite being aware of the difficulties, I chose to join Ebusco in September, driven by the company’s potential. Ebusco’s buses have shown excellent performance, even thanks to the lowest energy consumption on the market,” says Christian Schreyer, CEO of Ebusco.

“With my deep familiarity and experience in this industry, I can say with confidence that Ebusco’s products have enormous potential. However, I recognize that this potential has not been adequately exploited as Ebusco faces financial challenges along the way. We have to go around Ebusco.

“Together with the Ebusco team, we have developed a plan to create a leaner organization, restore confidence in Ebusco as a company for all our stakeholders and restore our financial health. With the change in manufacturing strategy, Ebusco will focus on product engineering and in-house production of helmets, while outsourcing assembly activities to experienced contract manufacturers.

“I am fully focused on the implementation of the Reform Plan. I believe that with this approach, our proven products and the support of our shareholders and the capital markets, Ebusco is well positioned to meet the current high demand for electric buses in the European market”.

As part of his appointment as CEO, Schreyer also receives 300,000 Ebusco shares that will vest three years after his appointment, provided he continues to serve as CEO at that time.

Ebusco has also consolidated its five shares into one to increase the market value per common share and facilitate its ongoing rights issue.

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