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Private company

DesignLine Corporation

New Zealand bus manufacturing company

Environmental Performance Vehicles (EPV), previously DesignLine Corporation, is a manufacturer of coach, electric and range-extended electric (hybrid) buses. It was founded in Ashburton, New Zealand in 1985. Initially it was a manufacturer of tour coaches.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1985Founded1
  • Industrybus manufacturing1
  • HeadquartersCharlotte1
  • Websiteepvinc.com

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Environmental Performance Vehicles (EPV), previously DesignLine Corporation, is a manufacturer of coach, electric and range-extended electric (hybrid) buses. It was founded in Ashburton, New Zealand in 1985. Initially it was a manufacturer of tour coaches. In the 1990s it diversified into conventional transit buses and then added hybrid city buses in the late 1990s. It was acquired by American interests in 2006, and DesignLine Corporation's headquarters was relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina. Following a bankruptcy in 2013, the assets of DesignLine were sold and the company was renamed.2

Products and brands

Electric vehicle

DesignLine's EcoSmart is an all-electric bus powered by sodium batteries, and based on the established EcoSaver drive train system.

Coach vehicle

DesignLine's EcoCoach is a high floor, single door bus powered by either compressed natural gas (CNG) or diesel fuel. The bus is built on a lightweight frame that lowers overall vehicle weight and improves fuel economy. The bus is designed for long routes with infrequent stops, such as intercity routes, or limited access transit routes (i.e. Park and Ride). DesignLine had a contract with New Jersey Transit to supply the agency with 76 EcoCoach buses by May 2013.

The EcoCoach is also the first 45-foot CNG coach to complete testing at the Altoona Bus Testing and Research Center.

Products

DesignLine markets the following buses:

From Wikipedia’s article on Environmental Performance Vehicles, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Timeline

  1. 1985Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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