Christian Schreyer joins Ebusco as new CEO within process of company’s restructuring

Ebusco‘s Supervisory Board has appointed Christian Schreyer as new CEO in the framework of the turnaround plan put in place by the company’s Executive Team. In this process, “it was concluded that the organisation should be led by a single CEO with a general management track record in the public transport sector.

Founder Peter Bijvelds and Michiel Peters will step down as Co-CEO’s on 2 September“.

A step back: Ebusco’s turnaround plan driven by EBITDA loss

A step back: Ebusco half 2024 financial results show EBITDA loss of €60.7 million (increased 40% compared to 43 in 2023) and revenue at €38 million (-8.8%). Just 98 buses were delivered, vs a order book of as many as 1,662 buses. “Scaling up with contract manufacturers has been hampered by start-up inefficiencies”, said the company, that is pivoting to a new strategy based on assembly of 3.0 model in China being made by a external partner, as stated during the presentation of 2023 results in March this year.

Ebusco shares have today a value of 0.94 €, and witnessed a -87% decrease in the last 12 months. The loss compared to the time when the company went public (October 2021) is -96%, as Ebusco’s shares value at that time was around 23 euros.

Christian Schreyer is new CEO at Ebusco

Ebusco’s press note states that “The Supervisory Board and current Co-CEO of Ebusco Peter Bijvelds, have agreed that it is the appropriate time for a leadership transition. Consequently Peter Bijvelds, will step down as Co-CEO. Since June current co-CEO Michiel Peters chaired the Executive Team while diagnosing Ebusco and defining a turnaround plan. In this process it has become clear that besides several operational changes the company requires a single CEO with a general management track record in the public transport sector. Michiel Peters is therefore stepping down”.

Christian Schreyer (1968) will join Ebusco on 2 September as CEO and chairman of the Executive Team. Ebusco will convene an EGM to propose the appointment of Christian Schreyer as member of the Management Board in the role of CEO and to present the turnaround and financing plans. Several major shareholders have already expressed their support for Christian’s appointment by providing financial backing as a prelude to start implementing the turnaround, the Dutch company says.

Christian Schreyer has extensive leadership experience in the transportation industry. He served as Group CEO of The Go-Ahead Group and, prior to that, he was CEO for North and Central Europe at Transdev. Schreyer also held executive roles at Deutsche Bahn and DB Cargo Polska.

Christian Schreyer holds a Master of Laws degree from Ludwig- Maximilians Universität Munich and pursued a General Management Programme at Harvard Business School in Boston USA.

Other changes at Ebusco

In addition to these management changes, the Supervisory Board announces that Ruud Spoor will step down from the Supervisory Board for health reasons and Saskia Schatteman will step down as Supervisory Board member due to personal reasons. Both retirements are with immediate effect, the company extends its gratitude for their contributions.

Founder Peter Bijvelds, comments: “From 2010 onwards, my focus has been on establishing and further developing Ebusco. While the idea of making cities cleaner with zero emission buses once seemed ambitious, it has now proven to be the future. With the support of a dedicated team, I have built this organisation from the ground up and established Ebusco as an industry pioneer. Over the past decade, I’ve poured my energy into this mission, finding joy and satisfaction in seeing our products succeed and even outperform market standards in terms of energy efficiency. As Ebusco enters a new phase, it is time for me to hand over the CEO position to Christian whom I trust that under his leadership, the management will take the necessary steps to achieve the further execution of the turnaround.”

Michiel Peters, adds: “It has been a privilege to work with Peter, the Executive Team and other Ebusco colleagues. The superior product and bright people of Ebusco are a strong foundation for long term success. I believe that with the recent additions and the arrival of Christian Schreyer the Executive Team of Ebusco is strong and well positioned to deliver the required operational turnaround and further develop customer relations. I will therefore step back but will remain a supporter of the Ebusco team.”

Derk Haank, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Ebusco, adds: “We extend our gratitude to Peter for his tireless commitment and dedication. We thank Michiel Peters for his leadership over the past period to chair the Executive Team while shaping the Turnaround Plan, preparing the organisation for the next phase, and supporting Christian Schreyer while on-boarding. To conclude, but by no means less important we thank Ruud Spoor for his dedication both before and after the listing of Ebusco as well Saskia Schatteman for the constructive cooperation over the past years”