FirstGroup has said that it is placing an order of 425 new buses in order to upgrade its fleet of busses in the UK.

The company placed the order worth £70 million, which will include one of the biggest-ever investments of its kind for UK services outside London.  The order will be a significant boost for the Falkirk-based Alexander Dennis that is aiming to build around 100 of the 425 buses.  Ballymena-based Wrightbus in Northern Ireland will build the remaining 300 vehicles for the company including 274 small buses featuring hybrid systems.

The new hybrid systems are expected to boost the fuel efficiency by around 10 per cent for the FirstGroup.  The Aberdeen-based transport operator said that the order will be the UK's biggest ever investment in new buses for services outside of London.  FirstGroup is under pressure to improve emissions from its business and vehicles.

First Group will be the first company to operate such hybrid busses aimed at reducing emissions through higher efficiency.  The order brings the company's total investment in 2,000 new vehicles to around £310m over four years.