With a new Managing Director at the helm, Harris Bus & Coach is entering an important new phase of growth. We speak to the man at the top, Dave Porter, about his plans for the business, the growing presence of the HIGER brand in the UK and Ireland, and what’s in store at Euro Bus Expo.
Tell us a bit about your company?
Harris Bus & Coach is the UK and Ireland distributor for HIGER, with responsibility for developing the brand across bus and coach markets. We’re building the business and our presence through an expanding nationwide dealer network of 50 locations, class-leading warranty packages and a growing HIGER product portfolio.
We’re focused on establishing HIGER as a credible alternative to the established manufacturers, combining competitive vehicle pricing with comprehensive manufacturer support. From a personal perspective, I bring almost four decades of experience across the bus and coach industry, including senior roles with Volvo, Van Hool and Wrightbus.
The HIGER proposition currently spans the V-Series luxury coach range, including the V10, V12 and luxury tri-axle V14, all backed by an industry-first five-year / 500,000km manufacturer’s warranty, providing operators with significant additional reassurance when considering their next acquisition.
Our new 8.9-metre Euro-6 Azure 9 – which will make its debut at Euro Bus Expo – represents an important expansion for Harris Bus & Coach, taking the business beyond our established coach offering and into scheduled-service and urban bus markets in the UK and Ireland.
Together, the HIGER product range and the Harris Bus & Coach support operation are designed to give operators a fundamentally different choice in the market, backed by an established manufacturer, ultra-competitive pricing and a growing UK and Ireland support network.
Tell us about your latest product(s), service(s), promotions or launches visitors can hope to see on your stand?
Visitors to the Harris Bus & Coach stand at Euro Bus Expo 2026 will see the latest developments from HIGER, including the first public showing of our new, 63-passenger capacity Azure 9. Powered by a 4.5-litre Euro-6 Cummins engine producing 162kW (220hp) and 820Nm of torque, it’s paired with a Voith 857.8 automatic transmission. Front and rear air suspension, Wabco EBS and disc brakes complete a specification designed around demanding stop-start urban operation.
We’re bringing the Azure 9 to market with ultra-competitive pricing and supported by class-leading three-year / 300,000km manufacturer’s warranty.
Alongside the Azure 9, visitors will be able to see the HIGER V-Series, including the V12 luxury touring coach being introduced into operational trials for the first time with FlixBus’s operating partners. The V12 will appear in FlixBus branding at the show, providing an opportunity for operators to see the vehicle in a real-world commercial specification. There’ll also be a V10 coach kindly on loan from a leading operator, and we’re very excited about having their vehicle on our stand.
The V-Series proposition is backed by our ground-breaking five-year / 500,000km manufacturer’s warranty, proving beyond doubt our confidence in supporting the V12’s reliability, operational performance, passenger appeal and whole-life economics in high-mileage commercial operation.
Our stand will also provide an opportunity to meet the Harris Bus & Coach team and discuss our growing HIGER range, dealer network and plans for the UK and Ireland.
Talking of the team, we’ve been busy bringing some experienced and well-known names from across the industry on board. They bring a wealth of knowledge, expertise and industry connections, and securing people of their calibre is a real coup for the business. We’re looking forward to introducing them properly to visitors at Euro Bus Expo and showcasing the strength of the team we’ve assembled.
Why is exhibiting at Euro Bus Expo 2026 an unmissable opportunity for you?
Euro Bus Expo 2026 comes at an important point in the development of Harris Bus & Coach and HIGER in the UK and Ireland. The show provides the opportunity to demonstrate the breadth of our proposition, from luxury touring coaches through to the new Azure 9 city-bus and its entry into the scheduled-service market.
For Harris Bus & Coach, the debut of the Azure 9 is particularly significant. It is the first HIGER Euro-6 city-bus to join the line-up and marks the beginning of a planned phased introduction of HIGER bus products for the UK and Ireland. The vehicle gives operators a new option in the mid-sized scheduled-service sector, combining established Cummins and Voith componentry with competitive acquisition pricing.
Euro Bus Expo also provides an important platform for the HIGER V-Series. The V12’s operational trial with FlixBus operating partners demonstrates our intention to put the product into demanding commercial operations and allows it to be judged on the criteria that matter most to professional operators.
More broadly, Euro Bus Expo gives us the opportunity to meet operators, customers and industry partners at a defining stage in the company’s development. With an expanding dealer footprint, further additions to the HIGER portfolio planned and ambitious growth plans for 2027 and beyond, the business is using the Euro Bus Expo to demonstrate where it’s heading.
Put simply, we’re prepared to invest, challenge convention and think long-term as we build the Harris Bus & Coach business and the HIGER brand in the UK and Ireland.