Buses World News
In brief: Worldwide montly news & informations about Buses, Busmakers, Passengers' and the Transport Industry
VANHOOL BUSES * Belgium: Open a factory in Kazakhstan
* Kyzylorda - Belgian VanHool Buses to be produced in
--- Kazakhstan plans to start production of VanHool buses based on the technology of the Belgian company which annually manufactures approximately 1,400 buses and coaches and as many as 4,000 commercial vehicles... The total value of the agreement on bus construction, which will be based in Kyzylorda region, is 10 million euro (US$11.3 million) and will be financed by both parties... Kazakh participation will represent one quarter of the total production, said Baikonur head Temirkhan Kenzhebayev. The operation is expected to attract existing car building and automobile manufacturers, as well as plastic and textile production companies. Kazakhstan’s share in the production process is expected to increase after the launch of the Kyzylorda glass factory... Kenzhebayev added the project could enhance the level of interest of European and American markets to import components made of high-quality Kazakh glass...
(Photo credit: vanhool.be) -- Brussels, Belgium - The Astana Times - 22 JUNE 2016Labels: busmakers news Europe, busmakers news worldwide
MARI-BUS * Hungary: Searching an own market for buses
* Budapest - Hungarian made buses tendering for mayor public transport
--- Székesfehérvár-based bus manufacturing company Ikarus, could participate in building the 150 buses necessary to substitute Budapest’s metro line 3 during its renovation. While a decision is yet to be made by the Budapest municipal assembly, plans are that the factory will produce 30 buses in the framework of the cooperation project... The capital called two tenders in late August to purchase a sufficient number of buses to substitute traffic on Budapest’s busiest subway line. The first of these was won by Polish firm Solaris, while Hungarian MABI-BUS Kft. won the second with its diesel model MODULO M168d... On Wednesday, the government is expected to announce the national bus manufacturing strategy, which is expected to have a major impact on the re-industrialisation of Hungary, an objective pursued by the Orbán government, and suppliers... Recently, the Hungarian company manufactured 20 midi-buses, of which there is a rapidly expanding European market, for the Budapest public transport company BKV...
(Photo: Zoltán Máthé/MNO) -- Budapest, Hungary - Hungary Today - 9 June 2016Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE * UK: JV amidst ADL and BYD -- ** Japan: Mitsubishi Fuso Bus'
* Scotland / UK - ADL seals £660m Chinese bus deal
-- Falkirk-based bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) is celebrating after securing a £660m contract with Chinese firm BYD... The deal will see ADL, one of the worlds largest bus manufacturers, build 200 single deck buses per annum, representing turnover of around £660m over the next 10 years... This would include the building of double deck buses, a sector in which ADL is a renowned world leader. If this happens, there is potential to triple the scale of the current deal to almost £2bn... ADL is the largest British-owned business in the UK automotive sector and in recent years has been one of the fastest-growing bus and coach manufacturers in the developed world... The group anticipates further growth of circa 20% with turnover moving towards £600m this year. It employs 2,500 people globally and supports a further 1,500 jobs through its global build partnerships...
(Image: An ADL bus) -- Falkirk, Scotland, UK - BQ, by Bryce Wilcock - 21 Oct 2015
* Japan - Tour bus makers warily welcome gains
-- Manufacturers of large sightseeing buses are enjoying brisk sales as orders have increased from bus operators experiencing a surge in the number of foreign travelers as preparations continue for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics... Mitsubishi Fuso Bus and Truck Corp., a major manufacturer of commercial vehicles, will increase hiring next spring by 10 percent from a year earlier... The company’s Toyama plant is manufacturing at a high rate the Aero Queen, a sightseeing bus on sale since July, with another painting line added in August... Mitsubishi Fuso made the decision to expand its workforce, including hiring workers under fixed-term contracts, as the company received nearly double its usual volume of orders for large-size buses in the first half of the year, on a year-on-year basis. The number of orders it has received has exceeded its production capacity with current staffing levels, even if they were to work overtime and give up days off... Thus, the company reviewed its production plans and decided to increase by 20 percent its large and midsize bus production volume for 2016 compared to that for 2014... Besides the number of senior citizens who are fond of taking sightseeing trips by bus, there are an increasing number of foreign visitors to Japan. In some cases, bus operators have had to wait nearly a year for delivery of their vehicles ordered...
(Photo: Mitsubishi Fuso, tourist bus Aero MM model) -- Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, Japan - The Yomiuri Shimbun - October 22, 2015Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKER NEWS * Israel: Defence firm Elbit shifts gears with electric buses
* Israel - Elbit see strong competition in developing battery-powered vehicles
-- For two decades, Israeli defence contractor Elbit Systems has its sights set on market - electric buses. The electronics company has landed on high-performance batteries suitable for electric buses... Elbit plans to have a commercially viable version ready by the end of 2016... It is also working on a similar-style battery for a car starter motor, for which a pilot production line will be finished by the end of the year... Since buses run along fixed routes for fixed amounts of time, the key is to be able to charge their batteries rapidly in the down-time, even in the pauses along a route... The problem with supercapacitors, however, is their cost and their weight, which can be prohibitive... Yet for those that manage to crack the problem, there is money to be made: the hybrid and electric bus market is still in its early stages, but it is expected to boom over the next decade to over $100 billion a year in terms of revenue, according to IDTechEx, a group that reasearches emerging technologies... Around half of that revenue will come from batteries sales... Elbit's solution to the battery weight problem is a hybrid supercapacitor - combined with a lithium ion battery - giving it both the high energy density of a conventional battery and power of a supercapacitor. The battery will weigh just one tonne, making it less expensive and freeing up room for more passengers...
Netanya, Israel - Reuters, by Ari Rabinovitch / Pravin Char - May 7, 2015Labels: busmakers news worldwide, electric buses makers
BUSMAKERS NEWS * United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi / Egypt
* Abu Dhabi - Bus maker profits from Cairo’s traffic problems
(Photo by DELORES JOHNSON / The National - Vinojin Aruldas, 26, checks out the new ticket vending machine at the bus terminal in Abu Dhabi)
Cairo,Egypt -The National, by Shereen El Gazzar -December 1, 2014: -- Cairo’s notorious traffic congestion is proving profitable for one Abu Dhabi-based bus maker... Hafilat Industries has won a US$40 million order to supply 300 buses to Cairo’s public transport authority. Meanwhile, another 300 buses will be supplied by the Egyptian distributor GB Auto... Traffic congestion in Cairo has become a serious problem for municipal planners and is hurting both the economy and quality of life for the city’s 20 million inhabitants... Wasted time spent stuck in traffic, unnecessary fuel consumption and reduced air quality have all been cited as factors that are bad for business in the sprawling city... The 600 buses will cover about 44.5 per cent of the transport authority’s needs... Egypt’s dwindling currency reserves and large fiscal deficit have necessitated large inflows of funds from Arabian Gulf donors. Direct aid to Egypt from the UAE, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia totalled $10.6 billion last year...Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE * UK / Brazil * USA * North Ireland / UK
* North Ireland - Wrightbus wins London bus contract
(Photo: Wrightbus will supply the buses to the Transport for London by the second quarter of 2016)
County Antrim,N.I.,UK -BBC News -6 November 2014:
-- A County Antrim coachbuilder has won a contract to supply Transport for London (TfL) with 200 new Routemaster buses... Wrightbus said the new order would secure employment in its Ballymena and Antrim plants... The Ballymena-based coachbuilder was originally awarded a contract in 2010 to create a new hybrid bus for London... Leon Daniels of TfL said the New Routemaster vehicles would enhance air quality and reduce vehicle noise... Mark Nodder of Wrights Group, said: "Once again we are delighted to have confirmation of a substantial order from London, which is a massive endorsement of the success of the New Routemaster and the company's position as leading designers and manufacturers of eye-catching and environmentally responsible vehicles" ...
* UK - Iveco Bus, the CNH Industrial brand dedicated to collective passenger transport, arrives in Brazil
(Photo: The Indcar mago 2 bus from IVECO)
Basildon,UK -PR Newswire -November 06, 2014: -- CNH Industrial N.V. has officially launched its Iveco Bus brand in Brazil. The brand made its Brazilian debut yesterday at FetransRio 2014, one of the country's largest trade fairs dedicated to the public transport sector... The Iveco Bus stand at the fair presented its main solutions for the public transport market in Brazil, including models mounted on the 170S28U chassis, this one is specifically designed for the Brazilian market in response to demand in the 17 tonne vehicle segment, one of the fastest growing in the country due to the renewal of public transit fleets in large cities. The chassis is manufactured on a dedicated product development platform established for the bus and coach segment at the Iveco industrial complex in Sete Lagoas (MG)... Also present on the stand is the CityClass in a minibus, charter version, which caters to the 7 – 8 tonne vehicle range. Brazil's government chose the CityClass for its "Path to School" programme, which provides children, especially those living in rural areas, with access to transport links to their educational institutions...
* Missouri / USA - IC Bus showcases purpose-built propane School Bus at NAPT Summit
(Photo: The IC Bus CE Hybrid)
Kansas City,MO,USA -School Transportation News -8 NOV 2014: -- IC Bus, LLC was in attendance this weekend at the National Association for Pupil Transportation (NAPT) 40th Annual Conference and Trade Show. The company showcased its latest product innovation, the IC Bus™ CE Series school bus powered by the Power Solutions International (PSI) 8.8-liter LP propane engine... Purpose-built for the school bus industry, the CE Series with PSI propane engine is designed to provide diesel-like performance with higher torque at lower engine speeds. It will be available for order for the 2015-2016 school year... The PSI 8.8-liter engine is engineered to deliver the highest torque at the lowest speed. With a rating of 565 lb-ft at 1500 rpm, the high-torque, low-speed design greatly benefits stop-and-start applications to allow immediate acceleration after stops and greater hill climbing capability. This not only improves startability and gradability, but also eliminates excessive noise, heat and vibration associated with constant engine revving. Minimal revving reduces engine wear, oil usage and maintenance, while increasing durability and efficiency...Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS * Saudi Arabia: MAN's
* Saudi Arabia - SAMCO Automotive Manufacturing Company awarded for best MAN assembly process
Jeddah,S.A. -ZAWYA -26 Oct 2014: -- SAMCO Displays its Technical Expertise and Innovative Manufacturing capabilities at MAN xKD Customer Days Competition... MAN Truck and Bus, the international leader in truck manufacturing with its assemblies all over the world today announced that SAMCO (Saudi Automotive Manufacturing Company), its truck assembly partner in Saudi Arabia won the first place in a global best practice competition for securing quality and increasing efficiency of its assembly plant... The SAMCO Jeddah Assembly plant, which opened at the start of 2009, has been an important pillar of MAN's Middle East growth strategy in one of the fastest growing regions for MAN across the globe. The plant has a production capacity of 3.000 units per year...Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS WORLDWIDE * China - Japan
* China - 1,100 Ankai Buses shipped to Algeria
Hefei,Anhui,China -Chinabuses.org -14 July 2014: -- In Jun. This year, Ankia Bus stroke a deal with CIMA MOTORS based in Algeria. According to the sales contract, the bus maker is expected to export 1,100 units of buses to the African nation with a total value of 224 million RMB (about 36 million USD). According to the company, this is also the largest overseas deal made by the company in the early half of 2014...
* China - Ankai School Bus on display at Beijing Traffic Safety Product Exhibition
Hefei,Anhui,China -Chinabuses/Anhui News -20 Aug 2014: -- On Aug. 20, the Sixth China International Road Traffic Safety Product Exhibition kicked off in Beijing International Exhibition Center. Ankai brought its 6-meter school bus, its 12-meter American-style school bus and its Best bus on display, all of which fully represent the company's bus manufacturing strength... As one of the leading bus manufacturers in China, Ankai always attaches great importance to the bus safety. It is among the first batch of enterprises in China as a qualified producer of professional school buses and is able to make the special school buses with long head. In 2012, the company joined hands with US-based Navistar, a well-renowned bus maker for a series of technological cooperation...
* Japan - Showa monocoque buses draw tourists
(Photo: A Shibetsu Kido monocoque bus that attracts antique bus fans)
Shibetsu, northern Hokkaido,Japan -The Yomiuri Shimbun -23 Aug 2014: -- Rare “monocoque” bus models manufactured during the Showa era (1926-1989) have been drawing attention around the nation... Word about the operation of such buses has spread quickly via the Internet, and antique bus lovers are visiting different areas just to see them in person... After World War II, the monocoque method was used by bus manufacturers who had formerly been in the aviation industry. Many of these buses have a very distinctive look due to the many rivets visible on their surface... Most modern buses use skeleton frames... Shibetsu Kido, a bus company located in
Shibetsu, northern Hokkaido, operates a RC series bus manufactured in 1982 by Hino Motors, making one trip on weekday mornings. The monocoque bus is known for its loud engine noise as well as the visible rivets along the body...Labels: buses sales, busmakers news China, busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS * China / South Korea: Sunlong's
* South Korea - Chinese midsize busmaker establishes beachhead in
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(Photo: Sunlong.s Duego bus EX model)
Seoul,SK -Yonhap -31 July 2014: -- China's Sunlong Bus Co. has quietly moved to establish a beachhead in South Korea's medium-size people hauler market by introducing a more spacious and up-market interior than its rivals, industry watchers said Thursday... According to market sources, the Shanghai-based bus company, set up in 2005, has received good feedback for its Duego EX model, with the local distributor aiming to increase sales in the coming months...Labels: busmakers news China, busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE: Iveco's
* UK - CNH Industrial brand Iveco Bus wins an important contract for 300 Eurorider chassis in Egypt
(Photo: Iveco apuesta en el mercado de buses con el chasis "Eurorider")
Basildon,Essex,EN,UK -PRNewswire -July 29, 2014: -- The Iveco Bus importer for Egypt, GB Auto - a Ghabbour Group company, a leading automotive assembler and distributor in the Middle East and Africa - has signed an important contract with the Cairo Transport Authority - CTA - for the delivery of 300 Eurorider chassis to be bodied as 12.20 m city buses... Iveco Bus, a brand of CNH Industrial, will manufacture the 300 Eurorider chassis at its plant in Annonay, France. The chassis will be bodied by GB Polo, a joint venture between the Ghabbour Group and the Brazilian bodybuilder Marcopolo, at its plant in the Cairo suburbs... Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS * Belgium
* Belgium - Industry-First Modular Braking System Platform by WABCO
(Photo: Wabco introduces modular OptiDrive AMTs for CVs. AMT systems free drivers from frequent gear shifts, reducing their stress and fatigue while allowing them to concentrate on traffic conditions)
Brussells,Belgium -MarketWatch -Jul 17, 2014: -- WABCO Holdings Inc., a global technology leader and tier-one supplier to the commercial vehicle industry, has launched its industry-first modular braking system platform (mBSP)... WABCO's latest innovative braking architecture now enables its customers to interchangeably equip their diverse global truck and bus platforms with anti-lock braking (ABS) or electronic braking (EBS) systems based on regional market or regulatory requirements worldwide... WABCO mBSP reduces the number of ABS components by 50 percent to the same amount of components as in EBS. By leveraging the advantages of WABCO's unique mBSP system, vehicle manufacturers can significantly reduce system development, installation and software testing time, accelerate homologation for their diverse brands and vehicle portfolios globally, and bring new trucks and buses to market faster...Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS * Australia - ADL`s
* South Australia -Jobs at risk as bus maker cut loose by parent company
(Photo: 100 jobs at risk as bus maker cut loose by parent company)
Adelaide,South Australia,Australia -7News, by TIM NOONAN -May 30, 2014: -- The Adelaide-based firm that makes the city’s buses has gone into administration, putting 100 jobs at risk... Custom Coaches, based at Royal Park in the western suburbs, was cut loose by its parent company overnight... Scottish-based ADL bought the company in 2012, but it has been making substantial losses... Custom Coaches has a contract to build buses for Adelaide’s public transport network. Even if no buyer is found, the government said there will be no delay in the supply of buses, but they will be assembled elsewhere... The state government was criticised in 2012 when Custom Coaches axed staff after a lucrative contract was awarded offshore...Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS * USA / China: ByD´s
* California - The BYD Electric Bus is first 40-foot electric bus to complete the Federal Transit Administration’s sponsored testing
(Photo: The First 40-foot, Zero-Emissions, Battery-Electric, Rapid Transit Bus. The BYD electric bus -the one pictured was American-made in BYD's Lancaster, CA factory-)
Altoona,PA,USA -Fort Mill Times -24 May 2014: -- The Altoona Bus Research and Testing Center under the Larson Institute and sponsored by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), last week completed the FTA’s “new model bus testing program” of the first 40-foot, all-electric bus. The BYD Electric Bus has successfully completed the Altoona structural integrity testing program in a fast 116 track days with full reports published soon. This is the world’s first and only long-range battery electric transit bus in mass production and the only bus capable of driving continuously for up to 24 hours on-a-single-charge that has also received TVM approvals and qualified for FTA funded projects...Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS * Holland: APTS´
* Bergisch Gladbach - Phileas fuel cell hydrogen buses successfully conclude test phase
Steinstraße,Bergisch Gladbach,Germany
-Chic Project/HyCologne -8 May 2014: -- On September 8th 2011 two hydrogen-driven fuel cell hybrid buses successfully finished a four-month test period. The 18 meter articulated busses named “Phileas” will now take up regular public transport service on inner-city and regional lines in the Rhein-Erft county for the first time. The cities of Hürth and Brühl will be the core areas of the traffic service offering... The "Phileas busses" are manufactured by the Dutch company APTS (Advanced Public Transport Systems), the know-how inside is German to a great extent, though. The fuel cell system has an electric capacity of 150 kilowatts. The busses are equipped with an innovative hybrid traction system supplied by Vossloh Kiepe GmbH in Düsseldorf. The self-adaptive energy management system controls the energy streams between the consumers and the dual energy storage system which consists of a combined double-layer capacitor plus battery...Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS * Pakistan -
* Punjab - Bus plants operate at just 3pc of installed capacity
(Photo: Bus plants operate at just 3pc of installed capacity)
Lahore,Punjab,Pakistán -The Nation, by SALMAN ABDUHU -8 May 2014: -- The auto industry’ bus manufacturing units are operating at record low level of less than 3 percent of their installed capacity, as all plants have produced merely 630 units of buses in first three quarters of the current fiscal year against the total annual production ability of 26,150 units thanks to the rambling import policy of the government... At a time when almost all provincial governments are planning to facilitate their public by launching rapid bus services in their provinces the country’s bus assemblers are showing an alarmingly low figures of their production as the major chunk of this mass transport facility is being fulfilled mainly through import, auto industry experts said... According to the latest data of Engineering Development Board, the major bus manufacturing companies including Hinopak Motors, Gandhara Nissan, Gandhara Industries, Afzal Motors, Daewoo Pak Motors, Tayyaba Motors and Fuso Motors have produced only 630 bus units against their total capacity of 26,150 units in the period of July 2013 to March 2014...Labels: busmakers news worldwide
BUSMAKERS NEWS * WORLDWIDE
* India - Tata Motors plans bus production in the Urals
(Photo)
Mumbai,Maharashtra,India -The Moscow Times -18 August 2013: -- India's leading bus manufacturer, Tata Motors, seems set to begin making vehicles in the Ural mountains... The company, which produces a range of cars, buses and trucks, is looking at the Bashkir trolleybus factory as a possible production facility, Ufa city hall's press service said, adding that Tata officials had toured the factory to gauge its technological capacity... Tata, which reported $35 billion in consolidated revenue in 2012, has a growing interest in the CIS as a marketplace and already partners with Ukraine's Borispolsky bus factory, RIA Novosti reported, where it rolls out 1,700 buses a year for a variety of buyers, according to its website... However, in Russia Tata will need to fight to gain a foothold: Billionaire Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element controls about 65 percent of the market... The factory upon which Tata has set its attention is in Russia's republic of Bashkortostan, to the west of the Ural mountains. In 2010 it produced 119 trolleybuses, 32 percent of total Russian production that year, the Bashinform news agency reported... ..Labels: busmakers news worldwide
THE NEW "Sprinter" FROM MERCEDES BENZ * Germany
* Baden-Württemberg - Mercedes-Benz launches new Sprinter
(Picture: A Sprinter Minibus)
Stuttgart,Germany -Busworld (Belgium) -5 May 2013: -- Mercedes-Benz has launched the Euro 6 version of its Sprinter minibus, which will become available in September of this year, produced for the European market. In other emission versions it is available globally... The Sprinter’s character as an increasingly global vehicle is also reflected in its production locations. In addition to rolling off the line in Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde, Germany, the van is produced in Charleston, South Carolina, González Catan, Argentina, and Fuzhou, China. In order to penetrate Russia’s dynamic mass market, an additional production of the Sprinter Classic at a plant operated by the Russian manufacturer GAZ in Nizhny Novgorod is currently being prepared...
* China - Daimler Van joint venture Fujian Benz Automotive Corp, opens new product development center in
(Picture: Fujian Benz currently produces the Mercedes W639 front)
Qingkou,Fúzhōu,China -Busworld (Belgium) -13 April 2013: -- After only two years of construction, Fujian Benz Automotive Corporation’s new product development center was officially opened in April 2013 in Fuzhou... The new product development center is the first such facility of Mercedes-Benz Vans outside Germany... The center focuses on Mercedes-Benz van models that are manufactured and sold in China: the Sprinter, the Vito, and the Viano. A total of RMB 500 million (approx. €60 million) was invested in the new center... One part of the new product development center is concentrated at the Fujian Benz production plant in Qinkou. The overall vehicle development department is located on approximately 11,000 square meters of built-up area. The department is responsible for product development and prototype construction as well as component and complete-vehicle testing... Fujian Benz Automotive Corporation was established in Fuzhou in October 2007. It is a joint venture between Daimler AG, Fujian Motor Industry Group Company (FJMG), and the Taiwan-based China Motors Corp (CMC). The Vito and Viano models are manufactured at the Fuzhou plant, where a bus version of the Sprinter also went into production in October 2011. In China, the vehicles from Mercedes-Benz Vans are currently serving the markets for high-end passenger transport operations and exclusive shuttle services...
* Brazil - Volvo buses sells 310 coaches to JCA Group
(Picture: Volvo bus B340R 4X2 Rodoviário)
Curitiba,Parana,Brazil-Busworld (Belgium) -12 April 2013: -- Volvo Buses has sold 310 coach chassis to the JCA Group, one of Brazil's largest passenger transport companies. This is the biggest deal closed to date in Brazil by Volvo in the coach chassis segment... The buses, which will be delivered in May, are all the B340R model, version 4x2, with 340 hp. The coach bodies will be built by Marcopolo... The B340R is factory equipped with the intelligent ABS/EBS brake system, which increases braking performance and prevents the vehicle from skidding, and with the Volvo 390 hp engine brake, which ensures increased safety on downhill stretches. Another differential of this vehicle is the renowned I-Shift gearbox, which reduces fuel consumption by up to 5 percent, as well as driving vehicle safety... The JCA Group’s vehicles are also equipped with ESP (Electronic Stability Program), a modern active safety system that contributes to preventing the risk of tipping over or skidding on curves...
* Canada - Nova Bus signs contract with Chicago
Saint-Eustache,Quebec,CAN -Busworld (Belgium) -3 May 2013: -- Canadian bus manufacturer Nova Bus, part of Volvo Bus, has signed a major contract worth $148 million for 300 diesel buses with the Chicago Transit Authority... Final assembly of the buses will be done in Plattsburgh, USA, to satisfy buy-in-America clauses in procurement contracts from public U.S. agencies. Last October, Nova Bus signed a $143-million contract with Toronto for 153 articulated buses whose deliveries are starting this year...
* Germany - Nine Citaro Euro VI buses delivered to BLT Baselland
Stutgart,Germany -Busworld (Belgium) -16 April 2013: -- BLT Baselland Transport AG in Switzerland recently took delivery of nine Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses meeting the requirements of the future Euro VI emissions standard. These are the first standard-production regular-service solo buses featuring this clean technology to go into service with BLT in Switzerland... An optimised combustion process and a sophisticated emission control system reduce particulate emissions to just three percent of the level specified by Euro I twenty years ago, while nitrogen oxide emissions have been cut to five percent... In addition to new engines and an extensive emission control system, the Citaro also features a new outer shell... They even offer lower fuel consumption – and therefore lower CO2 emissions – than originally expected. Mercedes-Benz has implemented a number of measures to compensate for the additional weight of the Euro VI components, including a lightweight fibreglass-reinforced-plastic (FRP) roof and a weight-optimised rear axle...
* Germany - First Mercedes-Benz Citaros delivered in Budapest
(Picture: Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses on Budapest streets)
Stuttgart,Germany -Busworld (Belgium) -4 May 2013: -- These Citaros are the first vehicles to be delivered from the major contract signed with the Budapest City Authorities last November for the acquisition of a total of 159 Mercedes-Benz Citaros... The complete order consists of over 80 articulated units and 79 solo vehicles of the new Citaro generation... Thanks to Mercedes-Benz BlueTec diesel technology, both the articulated and the solo units comply with the environmentally-friendly EEV exhaust gas standard... The new Citaro was manufactured in both the Mannheim bus production facilities and the factory in Neu-Ulm...
* UK - Stagecoach launches Anglo-Scots sleeper coaches made by Van Hool
(Picture by Jamie Vendy:
Stagecoach "Megabus Gold" Van Hool Astromega 50301 SF13 FMC -front view)
Perth,Scotland,UK -Busworld (Belgium) -24 April 2013: -- Stagecoach has launched an extensive network of overnight sleeper coach routes between Scotland and London, using a fleet of ten specially-designed vehicles costing £500,000 each... The first of the new coaches, which were designed and made by Belgian company Van Hool, will replace vehicles on an overnight route Stagecoach runs between Glasgow and London...
The vehicles have 53 seats that convert into 42 beds, and customers will get free refreshments during their journey, a sleeper kit including an eye mask, a toothbrush and toothpaste. They offer the possibility to go to sleep in one city and wake up in another without having to pay extra for a hotel room...
* Belgium - Van Hool presents first “Exqui.City Design Geneva” for TPG
(Image)
Koningshooikt, Belgium -Busworld -14 April 2013: -- Belgian bus and coach manufacturer Van Hool is preparing the first example of the new Exqui.City in the specific design for the Geneva haulier TPG. It is an 18-metre, articulated trolley version of the Exqui.City, of which the company responsible for public transport in the canton of Geneva, Transports Publics Genevois (TPG), has ordered 33... The Exqui.City design Geneva is the result of close collaboration between TPG and Van Hool... This new type of vehicle has a multi propulsion platform and this platform means that the Exqui.City, both the 18 m and the 24 m design, can be configured in various, environmentally-friendly versions such as a trolley, hybrid systems (diesel-electric and CNG-electric), fuel cell hybrid or full electric bus... A low floor and the four double doors guarantee optimal accessibility...
* UK - Plaxton launches new Panther variant
(Picture: A Plaxton 7 Elite bus)
Scarborough,EN,UK -Busworld (Belgium) -26 April 2013: -- The UK manufacturer Plaxton, part of the Alexander Dennis Group, unveiled a new Panther variant at the UK Coach Rally 2013... With just 10.8m in length, the vehicle can accomodate up to 45 passengers and can be featured with all of the options available from Panther. It will be based on the established Volvo B9R underframe with Volvo’s 380bhp 9-litre engine and I-Shift transmission...The new model is a development of the market-leading Panther range with the company’s proven and durable stainless-steel frame... Plaxton offers a comprehensive range of coaches from the 29-seat Cheetah through a choice of two- and three-axle, Panther and Elite models in lengths of up to 15m. The biggest coach is the recently-launched Elite i, a 15m interdeck coach with up to 75 seats, believed to be the largest coach ever built in the UK...
* Turkey - 490 BredaMenarini CNG buses for Istanbul
(Picture: A BredaMenarini's VivaCity bus)
Akçalar,Nilüfer,Bursa,Turkey -Busworld (Belgium) -6 April 2013: -- The Turkish vehicle manufacturer Karsan, who produces among others the BredaMenarini buses under licence, last year received an order to deliver 490 buses to the Istanbul public transport operator IETT (Istanbul Electricity Tramway and Tunnel General Management), include the supply of spare parts and diagnostic kits, a five years full maintenance service and the construction of natural gas refuelling stations.
According to these contracts, the 490 buses will be delivered in batches – a first batch of 140 vehicles were delivered between January and February of this year. The models ordered by IETT are the 12-metre Avancity+ L with CNG engine and the articulated 18-metre Avancity+ S... Both feature EEV engines, full length low floor, air conditioning system, wheelchair area and boarding ramp... The 12-metre vehicle has a capacity of 88 passengers whilst the articulated model transports up to 156 travellers. The buses are entirely manufactured in the Karsan plant in Bursa. The engines were sypplied by Mercedes-Benz and MAN...
* Slovenia - Production relaunched at TAM Maribor
(Picture from STA: A TAM Durabus model)
Maribor,Slovenia -Busworld (Belgium) -30 April 2013: -- TAM, the once-famed Maribor producer of buses and lorries, rose from the ashes on the 27th of April 2013 as production was officially relaunched at the company with the help of Chinese investor CHTC and Dutch company DuraBus... The former giant, which shared the fate of the majority of the industry in Maribor following the loss of Yugoslav markets, went into receivership as TVM in 2011, but is now being revived as TAM DuraBus, 51% Chinese-owned and 49% Dutch-Austrian... TAM DuraBus expects to have around 200 workers once production reaches full steam, with the eventual yearly output set at 300 buses and 100 lorries. The plan for this year - 65 workers have been employed so far - is the production of 50 to 60 buses... Labels: busmakers news worldwide
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(Photo: Sunlong.s Duego bus EX model).jpg)
Steinstraße,Bergisch Gladbach,Germany 
(Picture: A Sprinter Minibus)
(Picture: Volvo bus B340R 4X2 Rodoviário)
Curitiba,Parana,Brazil-Busworld (Belgium) -12 April 2013: -- Volvo Buses has sold 310 coach chassis to the JCA Group, one of Brazil's largest passenger transport companies. This is the biggest deal closed to date in Brazil by Volvo in the coach chassis segment... The buses, which will be delivered in May, are all the B340R model, version 4x2, with 340 hp. The coach bodies will be built by Marcopolo... The B340R is factory equipped with the intelligent ABS/EBS brake system, which increases braking performance and prevents the vehicle from skidding, and with the Volvo 390 hp engine brake, which ensures increased safety on downhill stretches. Another differential of this vehicle is the renowned I-Shift gearbox, which reduces fuel consumption by up to 5 percent, as well as driving vehicle safety... The JCA Group’s vehicles are also equipped with ESP (Electronic Stability Program), a modern active safety system that contributes to preventing the risk of tipping over or skidding on curves...
(Picture: Mercedes-Benz Citaro buses on Budapest streets)
(Picture by Jamie Vendy:
(Picture: A Plaxton 7 Elite bus)
(Picture: A BredaMenarini's VivaCity bus)
Akçalar,Nilüfer,Bursa,Turkey -Busworld (Belgium) -6 April 2013: -- The Turkish vehicle manufacturer Karsan, who produces among others the BredaMenarini buses under licence, last year received an order to deliver 490 buses to the Istanbul public transport operator IETT (Istanbul Electricity Tramway and Tunnel General Management), include the supply of spare parts and diagnostic kits, a five years full maintenance service and the construction of natural gas refuelling stations.
According to these contracts, the 490 buses will be delivered in batches – a first batch of 140 vehicles were delivered between January and February of this year. The models ordered by IETT are the 12-metre Avancity+ L with CNG engine and the articulated 18-metre Avancity+ S... Both feature EEV engines, full length low floor, air conditioning system, wheelchair area and boarding ramp... The 12-metre vehicle has a capacity of 88 passengers whilst the articulated model transports up to 156 travellers. The buses are entirely manufactured in the Karsan plant in Bursa. The engines were sypplied by Mercedes-Benz and MAN...
(Picture from STA: A TAM Durabus model) 
