Special Supplement to Truck & Bus Builder on Commercial Vehicle Developments in India

INDIA

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www.truckandbusbuilder.com Serving the industry since 1978T&BB

News from Busworld India held in Bangalore in December 2016. Extracts from T&BB India Supplement No. 39.

About Truck & Bus Builder:

First published in October 1978, Truck & Bus Builder is the international monthly newsletter of commercial vehicle manufacturing developments. It is a subscription-based publication and is read by senior executives around the world involved in the manufacture, marketing, sale and operation of commercial vehicles.

Areas covered include company performance, new products and technology, statistical information, environmental developments, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and agreements, new companies, contracts and orders, legislation, comments and analysis, appointments and events and exhibitions.

In addition to the monthly publication, Truck & Bus Builder, each quarter produces supplements reporting on key regional news. These supplements include Truck & Bus Builder India, Truck & Bus Builder East Asia, Truck & Bus Builder South America and Truck & Bus Builder China.

For more information about Truck & Bus Builder and its regional supplements visit: www.truckandbusbuilder.com

Investment / Manufacture

Austria - Safety seat belt manufacturing specialist for the commercial vehicle industry worldwide, Fasching Salzburg GmbH of Salzburg, Austria has announced plans to set up a production facility in India.

At Busworld India 2016 in Bangalore, Harald Pessl, sales director and authorized officer for Fasching said that Fasching had been active on the Indian market for more than six years and during that time it had been monitoring closely the rules and regulations governing safety belts in the commercial vehicle industry. Pessl said it was now time to take a step forward and set

Fasching contemplating production in Indiaup a production facility in India. This would enable the company to manufacture its safety belts to its high standards but at a more competitive price for the Indian commercial vehicle and military markets. “Our production facility should be implemented and completed by mid-2018, so allowing full production to start in the second half of 2018”, said Pessl.

Fasching aims to achieve its goals by partnering with an already identified but unnamed experienced local company and plans to form a joint venture to achieve its goals over the next 12 to 18 months.

Production / Management

Oragadam - To ramp up bus production in order to meet growing demand for its products in India, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd (DICV) in August assumed management control of the Wrightbus bus body production operations and supply chain in Oragadam, according to Jitesh Jain for DICV at Busworld India last month. While Wrightbus continues in its role in bus design, as Daimler has already a substantial supply chain in India, it seemed a logical step for Daimler to assume a closer management role, Jain explained.

2016 has been the bus operation’s ramp up year, explained Shina Satyapal, manager corporate communications at DICV. The company started with truck production in 2012 and recently passed the 50,000 total output mark (earlier this year it launched the next generation Bharat-Stage IV compliant 9t and 12t trucks), while output at its bus plant began with concept vehicles in 2015. Ms Satyapal said DICV has invested a substantial sum in its bus operations totalling INR 425 Crore (approx. EUR58m). The DICV bus division has a twofold strategy, Satyapal continued, with volume production under the BharatBenz name and top of the range products under the Mercedes-Benz name. Currently, it has three products - three vehicles at 9t gvw (school, staff and tourism). In the pipeline for 2017 introduction are 12t and 16t variants, announced Satyapal. Under the Mercedes-Benz logo it is offering its 2436SHD 14.5m high deck coach model. Bus sales have been focussed in markets of south and west India, Satyapal remarked and now the company is to expand its bus sales into the north and east of India. DICV has an extensive network (more than 80) of truck dealers and service partners throughout India.

Daimler assumes management control of bus build operations to accelerate production

On display at Busworld India 2016 in Bengaluru were two 9t gvw, 9.78m front-engine standard floor bus models – the Bharat-Benz School Bus and the Bharat-Benz Staff Bus. With previews of these models in June 2015 and sales having started in January, the company has already exceeded its targeted sales volume for the year, Satyapal stated. Both models share the same drivetrain of a locally produced 4-cylinder 4-litre in-line inter-cooled and turbocharged engine (4D34i) meeting either BS III or BS IV emission standards and rated at 170hp for the school variant and 140hp for the staff bus. Both models are fitted with ABS as standard.

The highly visible yellow school bus uses the Wrightbus Aluminique body structure with R66 rollover strength and meets a 42 degree tilt angle in the tilt test, which more than complies with ARAI’s recommended tilt test angle of 28 degrees. In addition to the ABS, an electronic pressure sensor is used to monitor the air pressure in the brake chambers and the VOSS connectors minimise the leaking of air, thus leading to highly effective braking. Safety is further enhanced in the chassis design, which as a wide frame width, tubeless radial tyres, and front and rear anti-roll bars for improved cornering, stability and better handling. Additional safety features in include individual seat (lap) belts on the two person bench seats, the interior is made from fire retardant fabric and plastics, anti-slip vinyl floor and access is facilitated via a retractable lower step. There is an emergency exit rear door on the driver’s side as well as all windows offer an exit with the life hammer mounted on the vertical stanchions on each side. The driver’s area is fitted with a guard to prevent children accessing the driver’s area; a fire extinguisher and passenger announcement system.

Product

Zaheerabad - The MG Group used Busworld India 2016 in Bangalore last month to announce derivations of its Mammoth coach for the domestic market.

The Mammoth premium luxury coach, which is built on a front-engine MAN CLA bus chassis supplied from the truck and bus chassis plant of MAN Trucks India Pvt Ltd in Pune, was on display in two versions for the domestic market; a double bunk sleeper (30 places with aisle offset and 1+2 configuration) and a tourism coach with reclining seats (44 seats in 2+2 configuration). Each seat comes with USB charging port and above in the luggage rack there is fitted a reading lamp and air conditioning control. The MG Group reminded its audience at the show that Mammoth had been designed with the biggest focus on safety and features no fewer than eight emergency exits, including the ‘EM – Secure’ Rear Emergency Exit, which is patented by MG: This offers an escape route through the rear of the coach via a top-hinged rear panel that opens upwards and using steps that fold down.

The company said that it had managed to export 12 units since its launch at Busworld India 2015 held in Mumbai in March of that year with the majority being delivered to customers in Ethiopia.

Anil Kamat, managing director, MG Group, explained the company’s plans for the Indian market, he said: “Celebrating our journey of 20 years in the bus building industry, the launch

MG launches domestic versions of Mammoth

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Show Report

India - The whole of India is moving to BS IV (Euro 4) in April 2017 and in just three years’ time, India is proposing to by-pass or skip adopting BS V (Euro 5) emissions regulations and move directly to BS VI (Euro 6) by April 2020, stated Chandramowli Kailasam, head of global commercial vehicles research for Frost & Sullivan in a presentation at Busworld India in Bengaluru last month. Kailasam said that the Indian government was taking huge steps towards enforcing cleaner emissions by introducing such low emission norms.

He said that the Nitin Jayram Gadkari, Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping had already instructed all state transport undertakings to make their fleets, comprising some 17 lakh (1,700,000) buses, either Euro VI or bio-fuel compliant by April 1, 2020. Kailasam has also stated that Euro VI fuel would be made available in metro cities much earlier than the deadline. By adopting BS VI norms, PM and NOx emissions from trucks and buses would, he said drop by 50% and 89%, respectively from BS IV norms – the latter comes into effect across the whole of India on April 1, 2017. A concern still remains that fuel quality will be an issue for effective operation of BS VI vehicles, but Kailasam stated that oil marketing companies were in a good position now to invest the necessary Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 crores (USD3.65 to USD4.35bn) in refinery operations in order to produce BS VI compliant (low sulfur) fuel. One of the key stakeholders is Society of Indian Automotive Manufacturers (SIAM), which has been supporting the Indian government in moving to BS VI. This will, however, said Kailasam, have a profound and costly impact, not just on Indian manufacturers, but also on international manufacturers setting up plants in India.

Kailasam stated that that in addition to legislation there were a number of key trends driving the bus market in India, namely Smart cities, rising income levels, safety and low cost manufacturing. He said there were 100 Smart cities in India, where action plans were being undertaken to address key issues for modern city dwelling; the top three issues are adequate water supply, sanitation and electricity, while the fourth is efficient and sustainable mass mobility.

Kailasam stated that the India customer was becoming a little more sophisticated because of higher levels of disposable income and as such were becoming more open to paying for safety features as well as comfort. The average Indian bus customer has started to ask for more safety features, he stated, especially in the luxury intercity bus segment where there have been some well publicized incidents involving fires resulting in fatalities. In addition to customer expectations, new legislation to improve safety standards has and will be introduced in the coming years to improve safety standards; this started with the Bus Body (fabrication) Code and compulsory ABS1 implementation from April, 2016. The Bus Body Code has seen the bus body building industry, which accounts for more than 90% of all buses and coaches built using this method (i.e. body on chassis), become reshaped, said Kailasam. 50 to 100 bus body builders are now compliant, however, the regulation has led to a fourfold (4X) increase in fully built vehicles, he added.

In the next two to five years, Frost & Sullivan believes that there will be vast improvements in safety both active and passive, some of which will be market driven and some will result from legislation such as seat belts, airbags and video safety devices.

The government currently does not have a fully

Outlook for bus and coach market looks positive as India pushes for cleaner emissions, says Frost & Sullivan at Busworld India 2016

Subsequently, Kailasam sees OEMs investing in hybrid buses, especially for transit and inter-city applications. Kailasam added that the Indian OEMs such as Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland have already developed hybrid and electric buses. “It is just a matter of time before they will be mass producing these vehicles {hybrid and full electric}. These vehicles are undergoing tests and they are on a technology path to be in a position to produce these buses in the next couple of years.”

Over the short term (five years) all the powertrain options are expected to become available i.e. diesel, CNG, hybrid, plug-in and electric. However, diesel engines will still be the preferred option for the OEMs’ customers. He said the European OEMs’ presence was expected to rise due to the market expansion of high-end buses and coaches, especially in metro cities. Kailasam said he fully expected to see key technology Chinese companies’ move into the market, and expects BYD to lead the way in full electric buses.

The Indian bus industry like many other industries is led by the truck business with buses being a secondary business, said Kailasam. Historically, the bus chassis has always shared the same architecture as that of the truck. So, in Kailasam’s view, there remains considerable time to go before the OEMs design and build purpose-built buses. So over the next five years, there will be little change in the general bus and coach architecture, stated Kailasam. The customer experience will change due to investment in the interior design and use of technologies to improve the passenger experience such as free Wi-Fi and infotainment systems. For the operator, the OEMs are expected to compete in the aftermarket by providing benefits that are practical in terms of track and trace and in the provision of various levels of fleet management systems. F&S expects driver Smartphone usage to increase from 1.8 times in 2016 to 2.8 times by 2020. This will enable fleet operators to empower its drivers and improve its fleet management. However, he does not see the highly sophisticated safety and fleet operator solutions now available in Western Europe such as driver fatigue and alko-lock systems, video monitoring and parking systems or lane departure warning systems coming onto the market for many years yet, unless the government introduces them through legislation.

1ABS made compulsory since October 2015 in M&HCVs, above 12t gvw in trucks and above 5t gvw in buses.

Bus and coach market forecast to grow steadily over next five years

The bus and coach market has fluctuated considerably over the last few years, but over the next four to five years, it is expected to see steady growth, stated Kailasam. The year 2015/2016 saw steady growth due to the stronger economy, new bus norms that have been introduced and fleet operators looking to buy new technology buses with better fuel consumption. F&S expects the market for medium and heavy-duty bus and coach to grow from 49,400 units in 2015/16 to 56,000 in 2016-17, this increase is largely due to the pre-buying before mandatory BS IV in April 2017. As a consequence, the market will fall back the year after to 51,500 units, before regaining momentum for continuous growth over the following three years. In 2018-19, fleet expansion, vehicle scrappage incentives, and a move to vehicles offering better passenger comfort is expected to boost numbers to around 59,000 units. In the next two years, the bus and coach market is forecast to grow to 70,000 in 2019/20 and 67,500 units in 2020/21 as a result of improved road infrastructure and rising demand for more reliable products with good fuel efficiency.

Production is also expected to grow due to rising exports over the next five years.

implemented policy for transportation, stated Kailasam; instead it has one for review. This includes a proposed policy for the scrappage of old vehicles, which, if and when implemented, is expected to increase demand across all bus segments - but more so for light buses because they tend to be much older (20 years sometimes) rather than the medium and heavy duty, which tend to be much newer.

India, Kailasam continued, is becoming a big manufacturing hub for buses: “All manufacturers will become part of the ‘Make in India’ programme for export. Apart from Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors, there are other manufacturers in India, like Volvo, in the high end coach and bus segment but also now entering the volume / value segment with its UD brand. All such overseas bus producers are looking at India as a production hub for export to regions such as Asia Pacific, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East, which have similar customer needs and road conditions as in India.”

Geography 2001-2005 2005-2010 2010-2017 2017-20201 2020-20252Nation-wide India 2000 BS II BS III BS IV BS VIMetros* BS II BS III BS IV BS IV BS VIOther Major cities**

India 2000 BS II BS III BS IV BS IV BS VI

Source: Frost & Sullivan Notes: 1Nation-wide BS IV fully implemented from April 1, 2017 2India plans to skip BS V and leap frog to implement BS VI by April 2020 across India.*Metros: NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai **Other Major Cities: Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur, Agra, Solapur, Lucknow.

Diesel hybrids and electric drive buses is the future for India, not CNG

At BS VI, the question, asked Kailasam, is whether the future technologies for city and interurban buses will be hybrids or natural gas. Presently most India customers look at the initial cost and not the total cost of ownership, said Kailasam. They also look at the fuel efficiency of buses.

However, this way of looking at the business model is not expected to change and as a consequence, vehicles need to be built to meet market demand. Due to the lower efficiency of natural gas engines as well as their propensity to spill more methane at Euro VI, will result in the OEMs moving towards hybrids over natural gas engines, Kailasam stated. “The OEMs must curb the methane without increasing the product price,” said Kailasam, adding that gas engines will cost 20% more than diesel hybrids! While Bharat VI requires lower sulfur content fuel for both, natural gas engines and diesel engines, natural gas engines will still require a major engineering upgrade in combustion design as well as extra after-treatment, said Kailasam. “Thus natural gas engines,” Kailasam stated, “may be optimal up to Bharat IV norms, but they are not viable for Bharat VI norms, as they will be definitely 15 to 20% higher in cost due to the upgrade technology and will consume about 8% more fuel than a similar Euro VI level compliant diesel engine.”

India M&HD Bus Market Forecast, FY2017 to FY20212016-17 (F) 2017-18 (F) 2018-19 (F) 2019-20 (F) 2020-21 (F)

Intercity 25565 25314 26899 33829 31615RP/Moffusil 12092 9870 13268 14289 14792Tourist 6413 6173 6472 6808 6142Staff 1256 1105 1543 2508 1623School 10662 9030 10667 12915 13353Total 55988 51492 58849 70349 67525

Continued on p3.

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Strategy / Market

Pune - With ten year anniversary celebrations of MAN’s presence in India at this month’s Bauma Conexpo India 2016 in Delhi, Joerg Mommertz, chairman and managing director of MAN Trucks India Pvt Ltd of Pithampur, Pune, was upbeat about prospects and of increasing sales in India with new vehicle configurations to offer the markets: Speaking with Truck & Bus Builder at Busworld India 2016 in Bangaluru, Mommertz said that MAN India’s plan was to replace its current off-road product for the mining sector in 6x4 and 8x4 configuration to offer lighter weight products in the form of a 6x2 model with lift-able axle and an 8x2 model with lift-able axle for the haulage business. Both would be offered in tractor and rigid truck specifications – Mommertz said that there were substantial volumes in both truck configurations and this presented a good opportunity on the Indian domestic market as well as abroad.

Output (all vehicles) this year would be around 3,200 units, said Mommertz, with an equal split in sales of its CLA truck to the domestic market and for export; although in a few years’ time, his aim was to match this total output with sales of some 3,000 units to the domestic market alone.

MAN India has made much progress in recent years: Four years ago, D0836 engine production was localized and today, local content exceeds 80%. As well as the engine, it makes axles and

MAN India ready for BS IV emission regulationsthe frame; transmissions are sourced locally from either Eaton or ZF. From April 2017, new emission regulations, Bharat Stage IV come into effect and for compliance, MAN is to use SCR only after-treatment technology without EGR. Whilst initially, it plans to import the SCR dosing and after-treatment technology, MAN India also plans to source the after-treatment locally. Mommertz added that engine output improves by 80hp, from 220hp at BS III to 300hp at BS IV. He also said that from April the same regulations and therefore new driveline were to be applied to the coach segment.

Mommertz said that MAN had invested heavily in its manufacturing facilities and engine production plant. Pithampur, he said, had a very modern engine and paint treatment plant. Mommertz said: “Aftersales is the backbone of the business.” As such MAN India’s aftersales services need to be expanded - one of its first initiatives the company is looking to invest in two to three key locations for training and aftersales support for certain export markets. At Pithampur, MAN already has its own training academy for engine and chassis maintenance for dealers.

Another recent development is the introduction of common rail engine technology with its BS III engine in place of unit injectors. This 6 cylinder, 6.7-litre D0836 common rail BS III engine is quieter but with more powerful outputs of 220hp to 280hp.

Exports not only by indigenous producers like Tata, Ashok and Eicher will rise; newly established brands like Bharat-Benz, Volvo, Scania and others will actively use India as an export hub for Asia, Africa and the Middle East. Volvo Bus Corporation in the past year has exported Euro 6 intercity buses to markets in Western Europe.

Above and opposite, as well throughout this issue, are a number of articles recording the key developments and product announced at the show. Busworld India 2016 was the best attended show yet, which included a visit by Shri R. V. Deshpande, Honourable Minister for Large and Medium Scale Industries and Infrastructure Development, Government of Karnataka.

Show Report - Busworld India 2016Continued from p2

Manufacture / Product

Bangalore - The MG Group1 of Mumbai, the parent company of bus body builders, MG Automotive Pvt Ltd2 of Telangana and, Alma Motors Pvt Ltd3 of Karnataka is set to have built 100,000 units since its inception in 1996.

As part of its celebrations, MG Group announced it was unveiling two new vehicles at Busworld India 2016 in Bengaluru; the Columbus, a special low floor monocoque bus for airport operations (see separate article in this issue), and the latest version of its luxury coach, Mammoth, which is built on an MAN chassis for the domestic market; at the previous Busworld India 2015 in Mumbai it unveiled the Mammoth for international markets. The company said that it had sold some 12 Mammoth units primarily to Ethiopia. (See separate articles in this issue).

Mr Anil M Kamat, managing director, MG Group, said: “At about 90,000 buses a year, India is one of the biggest markets for coach and bus sales worldwide. We at MG Group are proud to be among the leading bus building companies in India with an annual installed capacity of 16,500 vehicles and have, since inception, manufactured over 8,000 buses across 25 markets globally for export markets. This year, we are celebrating 20 years of bus building in India and would like to dedicate and thank our esteemed customers and partners such as Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, VECV, Tata Motors and MAN, for the faith they have entrusted in us over the years, to be able to achieve this record milestone.”

1MG Group is one of the organized and OE approved body builders, building on chassis supplied by major OEM’s like Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV), Tata Motors and MAN.

2MG Automotive Pvt Ltd of Telangana (bus body builder) has factory space extending to 21,000 square metres (sq m) with an annual installed capacity of 12,000 buses. Its clients, as well as being the OEMs include State Transport Undertakings (Telangana and Andhra Pradesh) and other institutional clients. It is one of the leading privately-owned bus building groups in India.

3Alma Motors Pvt Ltd of Karnataka is spread over 18,000 sq m and offers an annual capacity of 4,500 buses. Its major clients and partners are the same as its sister company and the end user includes fleet operators, schools and institutional clients.

MG Group close to milestone of producing 100,000 buses

Product / Diversification / Strategy / Export

Telangana - The MG Group of Telangana, India used Busworld India 2016 to announce its move into a new market segment with the unveiling of a 12m low floor integral airport bus.

Called Columbus, the bus it built to a monocoque design with front and rear chassis modules. The front module featured a ZF front portal axle, while the rear module included a ZF standard drive axle with ZF’s fully-automatic Ecolife transmission and Cummins 5.9-litre 230hp Euro IV engine fitted transversely.

Lalit Waankhede, consultant – vehicle integration at the MG Group, explained that the use of front and rear modules, in the event of damage, allows them to be replaced if necessary without affecting the structural integrity of the whole vehicle. The vehicle has a long wheelbase of more than six metres (6m) enabling a low floor virtually throughout the bus with a small step over the rear axle. The passenger area has been designed to offer swift entry and exit with just eight seats around the wheel arches, with five passenger doors – three on the driver’s off side consisting of a single plug door at the front, and two double doors between the wheelbase and then two more double swing-out doors opposite on the driver’s side. The interior layout permits it to accommodate up to 70 passengers (ie 8 seated and 62 standees). Use of 275/70 tyres allows a passenger entry floor height of 290mm, after kneeling. The vehicle is 2.6m wide, is equipped with deep flush panel sealed windows that offers good light and much space within the vehicle. It also has many of the very latest technologies such as ECAS (electronically controlled air suspension), ABS (anti-lock braking) and CAN bus system, which the MG Group stated, makes it fully compliant with airport handling manual regulations.

MG Group plans entry into the low floor airport bus sector

In addition it has a new driver binnacle with digital display, developed and supplied by the MG Group’s bus electronics solutions, MG Grey Engine LLP.

Anil Kamat, managing director of MG Group, said: “Over the past two decades, we at MG Group have played a significant role in the Indian bus building landscape, recognizing customer needs and introducing game-changing and innovative products and solutions for the bus and coach industry. The Columbus, currently diesel powered, is envisioned to be offered with CNG as well as electric drive lines in the short term. In India, the air passenger traffic has been increasing at approximately 20% year-on-year and hence the demand for tarmac coaches {apron transfer buses} is also increasing. The total park volume is currently 800 units, being a highly niche segment.”

The MG Group said: ‘A good tarmac coach further enhances the image of the airline. The Indian market currently demands about 50 coaches per year, which is expected to grow as aged tarmac coach fleets are also due for replacement. Leading airlines have also placed record order sizes for aircrafts, which in turn, will increase the demand for tarmac coaches. Tier-2 City Airports under focus will also boost the demand of tarmac coaches. Keeping in mind the urgent need for spacious and high technology coaches by the airline industry, the Columbus has been positioned as a revolutionizing product and a technology demonstrator. The bus is to be initially introduced for the export markets and is to use the Busworld India 2016 platform to take critical feedback from Indian customers with a goal to introduce it in the domestic market in the near future.’

Continued on p3.

INDIA

Product

Bangalore - Volvo Buses of Gothenburg, Sweden, used Busworld India 2016 in Bengaluru to unveil its new intercity coach range compliant with BS IV emission norms, which come into force in India in April 2017.

The new Volvo 9400 range, which is built in India at its modern facility in Hosakote, Bangalore, included the Volvo 9400 12m coach with the new BSIV 7.7-litre (D8C) 330hp engine, sourced from its global medium-duty engine plant in Pithampur, India, which is operated by Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicle Pvt Ltd (VECV) - its joint

12m Volvo 9400 coach now ready for BS IV normsventure company with Eicher Motors. The other model on the stand was the its best-selling Volvo 9400, 13.8m multi-axle or 3-axle coach now offered with a more powerful engine, being upgraded from 9-litres to 11-litres.

Volvo Bus also used the show to officially unveil its BS IV compliant 7.7-litre (D8C) 330hp electronically controlled engine, which is a 6-cylinder in-line unit with turbocharging.

Volvo Buses has now been in India for 15 years said Akash Passey, senior vice president – Business Region International, Volvo Bus Corporation at the

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SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT 28

APRIL 2014

Special Supplement to Truck & Bus Builder on Commercial Vehicle Developments in China

CHINA

Dear Reader,Despite words of caution and concern by a

number of analysts that the Chinese economy

is at risk of overheating, the commercial vehicle

manufacturing industry, which generally is one of

the first industry sectors to display evidence of this

happening, is, as yet, not showing any signs of this

occurring. The CV sector grew by a steady 6.4%

overall to eclipse the four million mark.

In fact, the industry as a whole appears confident

of continuing growth into the future. Furthermore,

this confidence is evidenced by the continued

investment, not just in capacity but in alternative

fuel vehicles and their production.

In fact, in this issue, there are three companies

looking to raise money through the Shenzhen or

Shanghai stock exchanges for defined investment

projects involving advanced technologies and / or

alternative fuels and drivelines.

Jim Gibbins, editor

1

Name Change / Product / ManufactureHangzhou / Japan / Sweden - Dongvo

(Hangzhou) Truck Co Ltd (formerly Dongfeng

Nissan-Diesel Motor Co Ltd) has announced that

series production of the new UD Quester heavy-

duty truck would start during the second quarter

this year.A prototype of the UD Quester tractor - which is

to be called Kuteng in China as this is the Chinese

name - made its debut on the Chinese market

in December 2013 at Hangzhou City, Zhejiang

Province. Its dimensions were 6.8m long, 2.5m

wide and 3.7m high, it had a curb weight of 8.76

tons and a gross combination weight limit of 40

tons. It was fitted with the GH1C 11-litre Euro

IV compliant diesel engine made by UD Trucks

Corporation, with a power output of (424hp)

316kW and matched with a Shaanxi Fast

12-speed manual transmission.

In preparation for production, a spokesperson

for the Volvo Group, (which owns UD Trucks

(formerly Nissan Diesel), in response to questions

from Truck & Bus Builder, said: “We have

introduced a number of new systems and

processes to be able to make use of Volvo’s

global supplier structure. And in production, we

have invested in a number of tools and working

methods to strictly ensure that we can meet the

quality standards required by Volvo. We have

also introduced Volvo’s quality audit process

before delivery to dealers and customers.” A high

percentage of the truck is to be manufactured

using local suppliers, although the engine is to

come from UD Trucks in Japan.

Dongfeng Nissan-Diesel Motor Co Ltd (DND),

founded in 1996 in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang

Province, is a parity joint venture (50:50) between

UD Quester trucks to be built and sold in

China under the name of KutengDongfeng Motor Corporation and UD

Trucks Corporation, with registered capital

of CNY290m. The spokesperson added that

Dongvo (Hangzhou) Truck Co Ltd was currently

still an independent joint venture, but that it would

become a subsidiary of Dongfeng Commercial

Vehicles (DFCV)*, once DFCV received all the

necessary approvals for its start-up, which, the

spokesperson said was expected to happen by

mid-2014.However, even after the inauguration of DFCV,

Dongvo (Hangzhou) Truck, as a subsidiary of

DFCV is to continue to only manufacture UD

branded trucks, whereas, DFCV itself is to only

manufacture DongFeng branded trucks.

The curent annual production capacity is 10,000

UD truck chassis. Output remains low; the

company built 362 truck chassis in 2012, which

generated revenue of CNY231m.

Backgound to the new DFCV joint venture

*In January this year, the Volvo Group announced

that China’s National Development and Reform

Commission (NDRC) had given its approval to the

proposed joint venture between the Volvo Group

of Gothenburg, Sweden and China’s Dongfeng

Motor Group Co Ltd (DFG).

This is one of a number of approvals required

from the Chinese authorities. It was back in

January 2013 that AB Volvo (the Volvo Group)

signed an agreement with DFG to acquire 45%

of a new subsidiary of DFG, Dongfeng Commercial

Vehicles (DFCV), which would include the major

part of DFG’s medium- and heavy-duty commercial

vehicles business and to produce commercial

vehicles under the Dongvo brand name.

Product / Technology

Xiamen / Taiwan - Xiamen King Long United

Automotive Industry Co Ltd (Xiamen King Long)

of Xiamen City, Fujian Province has brought to

market an all electrically powered coach for the

commuting service markets. The coach at 10.7m

long, 2.5m wide and 3.3m high, has a monocoque

body structure and has an in-house developed

100kW KLBEVTM200 electric motor, which provides

motive power from lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4)

batteries produced and supplied by Taiwanese

company, Simplo Technology Co Ltd of Huko,

Hsinchu county, Taiwan. It offers a carrying capacity

of 51 passengers and has a gross weight of 16.6t.

Xiamen King Long launches

electric commuter coach

Funding / Investment / Expansion

Hangzhou - Steering system and related parts

and components for commercial vehicles and

passenger vehicles, Zhejiang Shibao Co Ltd of

Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province, announced that

it plans to raise funds of CNY708m to expand its

operations and specifically in four projects.

The four projects are:• To increase output capacity of its hydraulic steering

systems for passenger vehicles and commercial

vehicles, including 200,000 sets for commercial

vehicles – Investment needed CNY128m;

• Manufacture and processing of precision

Zhejiang Shibao steering systems to raise stock

market funds to expand operationsfoundry parts and to increase capacity to

60,000 tons a year (CNY200m).

• Building an R&D and testing centre (CNY40m)

in Hangzhou City, Zhejiang Province;

• To build a production line for electric power

steering of 2.1 million sets a year (CNY340m).

Zhejiang Shibao Co Ltd has been listed on the

Shenzhen stock exchange since 2006 (002703,

SZ), and supplies steering systems to major

manufacturers such as FAW, DFM, JAC, King

Long, Foton, Chery, as well as to customers in

export markets such as Iran’s Saipa Diesel Group.

Export

Shanghai / Thailand - February saw SAIC

Maxus Motor (Thailand) Co Ltd - a joint venture

company established in 2013 by SAIC Motor

Commercial Vehicle Co Ltd of Shanghai and

the Chai Tai Group of Thailand - start sales of the

MAXUS van range in Thailand.

The new joint venture is engaged in the sales of

Maxus buses in Thailand. The first batch of about

100 V80 minibuses, are to be delivered to consumers

in Thailand for commuter service operations.

The V 80 minibus is 5.7m long, 2m wide and 2.5m

high. It has a gross vehicle weight of 4,100kg and

a carrying capacity of up to 16 passengers. It uses

a Shanghai Diesel SCR 2.5-litre Euro III compliant

diesel engine, which offers an output of 100kW.

Production of Maxus started in 2011. Sales

totaled 11,302 units in 2013, 7,076 units in 2012,

and 2,833 units in 2011.

SAIC’s joint venture starts

sales of MAXUS in Thailand

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT 23

APrIL 2014

IN THIS ISSUE

Dietrich Carebus pioneer’s new child seat

2

Indcar to build buses in Romania

3

DCG importing Yutong coaches to Europe

4

EEC trailer innovation award results

6

ATDyanmics enters Europe with boat-tail 8

Foton enters Europe with new energy

9

Special Supplement to Truck & Bus Builder on Commercial Vehicle Developments in India

Contract

China - BYD Auto Co Ltd of Shenzhen, China,

a fast expanding new energy company, with

its short but very progressive 15 year history in

battery technology and now since 2003 and 2009,

also specializing in the manufacture of electrically

powered cars and taxis and most recently buses,

announced at Busworld last month that it has won

an order for 2000 full size electric buses from the

City of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.

Paul Lin, senior manager, branding, BYD,

explained that the city of Shenzhen announced

in July this year that by 2015 all public vehicles

buses, taxis and other state-owned vehicles

operating in the city would be those that were fully

electrically powered only with zero emissions. Lin

added that during the recent Universiade2011

(University games) held in Shenzhen in August this

year, 40, BYD electric buses (eBUS-12) served the

sports village, sports venues and media centre, to

provide transportation for competitors, technical

officials, reporters and spectators. Lin said that

already 200 eBUS-12 were being operated as part

of Shenzhen’s public transportation system.

The eBUS-12 is a three-door full low floor city

bus made of an all-aluminium monocoque body

construction. It is fitted with a synchronous

e-motor, which

drives through

a 3-speed

automatic transmission, with electrical energy

stored in BYD’s own Fe battery pack, for which

BYD calculates, will last a full ten years based on

4000 cycles. (He also stated that the company

made battery packs with capacity for 6000 full

cycles, the equivalent to 15 years life). The battery

pack, says Lin, can then be recycled for energy

storage in another application such as solar power

storage. The eBUS is fitted with ZF rear drive axle

and has electronically controlled air suspension

front and rear which provides a kneeling function.

Lin is also able to installed the 100kW charging

station and thereby provide a turn key solution to

Vehixel and Indcar announce collaboration

to expand business internationally

its customers).

The eBUS-12, has a curb weight of 13.8t and

offers what Lin considers to be a conservative range

of 250km on a single charge in urban conditions

with stop-start depending on the duty cycle (280

to 300km is possible on less demanding routes,

says Lin). The bus can be fully charged in 3.5 hours

with a 100kW charger; energy consumption, says

BYD, is around 130kWh/100km with a battery

power pack density of 324kwh.

BYD exhibited at both APTA Expo in New

Orleans, USA and Busworld in Kortrijk, Belgium,

last month to introduce its eBus on both continents.

At Busworld, Lin announced that the eBus would

enter trial service in several European cities,

including Copenhagen and Frankfurt, in the coming

months. It is also understood that BYD’s electric

bus has started undergoing trials at one of the

world’s busiest airports in the city of Los Angeles.

The company added that the eBUS-12 was the

first in a range of electric buses under development;

other variants are to include a 10m model (eBUS-

10, 280km per charge), a double deck (eBUS-

12D, 200km per charge) and a right-hand-drive

version of its eBUS-12.

A further development announced as Future

Fuels & Power was going to press was an

agreement signed by BYD and Daimler AG

to establish “Shenzhen BYD Daimler New

Technology Co Ltd,” a 50:50 research and

technology centre to develop electric cars in China.

A further development announced as Future

Fuels & Power was going to press was an

agreement signed by BYD and Daimler AG

to establish “Shenzhen BYD Daimler New

Technology Co Ltd,” a 50:50 research and

technology centre to develop electric cars in China.

A further development announced as Future

Fuels & Power was going to press was an

agreement signed by BYD and Daimler AG

Investment / Research Centre

Germany / USA - Voith Turbo GmbH & Co KG of

Heidenheim, Germany, has opened a hybrid power-

train development centre in Poway, California, north

of San Diego for the further development of its hybrid

diesel/electric drive systems for transit buses.

Voith says that the centre covers more than

5000 square feet and includes office, warehouse

space and testing facilities. Also, a large solar panel

installation provides electricity for most day-to-day

facility operations.

“We are extremely excited to open a US-based

Hybrid Power-Train Development Centre,” said

Rob Wiss, vice president, Voith Turbo US Road

Voith opens US hybrid centre

Product / Technology

Product / Technology

USA - BAE Systems of Johnston City, New

York, USA used APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans,

Louisiana, last month to launch, the HDS 300

system, its HybriDrive series propulsion system for

articulated buses.

Based on the company’s proven HDS 200 hybrid

electric propulsion system technology currently

deployed in more than 3,500 transit buses across

the globe, the HDS 300 system will allow higher

capacity buses with gross vehicle weight ratings of

up to 63,000lbs (28.6t).

BAE Systems said it was currently working with

bus manufacturers New Flyer and Nova Bus to

make its HDS 300 hybrid electric propulsion system

available to North American bus transit fleets.

The system, BAE added, can be purchased as a

standard package or with electrified accessories

which further increase the system’s efficiency

by reducing energy demands on the engine.

Electric accessories offer reduced maintenance

and improved safety over their conventional

counterparts, eliminating the normal jungle of belts

and hydraulic lines from the engine compartment.

USA - BAE Systems of Johnston City, New

York, USA used APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans,

Louisiana, last month to launch, the HDS 300

system, its HybriDrive series propulsion system for

articulated buses.

Based on the company’s proven HDS 200 hybrid

electric propulsion system technology currently

deployed in more than 3,500 transit buses across

the globe, the HDS 300 system will allow higher

capacity buses with gross vehicle weight ratings of

up to 63,000lbs (28.6t).

BAE Systems said it was currently working with

bus manufacturers New Flyer and Nova Bus to

make its HDS 300 hybrid electric propulsion system

available to North American bus transit fleets.

The system, BAE added, can be purchased as a

standard package or with electrified accessories

which further increase.

Kässbohrer moves into truck

body building

Irizar plans entry into USA

Division. “The centre will allow us to further

develop hybrid bus technologies and cater to

the specific needs of our customers who want

to expand their use of this emerging technology.

Above all, we are making an important contribution

to the US economy by expanding the use of

clean-energy technology in transportation fleets

across the country.”

California-based Maxwell

Technologies is

to supply Voith with ultra capacitors; it already

uses Maxwell to supply systems for its patented

DIWAhybrid parallel drive system, which went into

production last month. Voith has been working

with Gillig to field test its parallel DIWAhybrid drive

system and says the aim of the Hybrid Power-

Train Development Center to expand on DIWA and

create new hybrid technologies for the US market.

INDIA

AXLES

1

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENT 13

MArCh 2014

Special Supplement to Truck & Bus Builder on Com

mercial Vehicle Developm

ents in East Asia

EAST ASIA

AXLES

1

Assembly / Agreem

ent

South Korea / Vietnam - Hyundai M

otor Co

of Seoul, South Korea is considering pulling out

of an agreement with Vietnam

’s Truong Hai Auto

Corporation of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam

,

because of delays in completing a local plant.

Hyundai signed an agreement with Vietnam

’s

largest comm

ercial vehicle assembler in 2011 for

the latter to assemble diesel engines at a new

USD182m facility in the Chu Lai Econom

ic Zone of

Vietnam’s Quang Nam

province.

But the delay in implem

enting the agreement has

Hyundai reviews Vietnam diesel engine project

meant that Hyundai’s regional requirem

ents have

moved on from

what was originally agreed. The

Korean firm is now understood to object to Truong

Hai’s plans to press ahead with assembly of Euro

II and Euro III engines, saying it would prefer to

switch to Euro IV engines from 2016.

Meanwhile, the Vietnam

government has just

approved the assembly by Truong Hai of up to

100,000 diesel engines over a five year period,

ending in

December

2018, in

line with

the

specification requirements of the local m

arket.

Expansion / Assembly / Distribution

Indonesia / Sweden - Swedish truck and bus

manufacturer, Scania AB of Sodertalje, aim

s to

strengthen its position in the Indonesian bus market

following the establishment of a new bus plant in the

country in late 2013, with the collaboration of its long-

standing local truck distributor, PT United Tractors.

The new

facility has

a m

onthly production

capacity of 25 completed buses, or around 250-

300 units per year. Demand for intercity and tourism

buses in Indonesia has expanded rapidly over the

last several years, with rising incomes encouraging

more leisure travel.

Public transport in the country’s major cities is

also heavily dependent on buses and demand here

is also increasing rapidly. The overall bus market is

currently dominated by Hino and M

ercedes-Benz,

with Chinese brands beginning to make inroads in

the last year or two.

Scania has a stronger presence in Indonesia’s mining

truck segment, however. The com

pany estimates last

year’s truck sales in the country at 450 to 500 units, a

level largely unchanged from the previous year despite

the tough conditions in the mining sector - with coal

prices depressed for some tim

e.

Indonesia is one of Asia’s largest producers of

coal, which it exports to major regional m

arkets such

as India and China. Scania estimates that around

95% of its truck sales in this country are to m

ining

companies. Its largest client here is PT Pam

apersada

Nusantara (PAMA), which has one of the largest fleets

of mining trucks in the world - including 640 Scanias.

Mikael Benje, head of Scania’s representative office

in Indonesia, said around 2,900 Scania mining trucks

were currently in operation in Indonesia, as well as

Scania expands presence in South-east Asia

150-200 (mostly im

ported) buses.

Scania expects

its truck

sales to

increase

from current levels, particularly when coal prices

recover and investment in coal production rises

once again. Mr Benje believes the tough off-road

operating conditions in this segment offer additional

opportunities for his company.

The com

pany has

established a

new parts

warehouse in Singapore to improve afterm

arket

supplies and reduce its clients’ truck downtime.

“Mining vehicles are worked hard and require rapid

access to parts. One of the reasons we built a new

parts warehouse in Singapore is that we want to cut

lead times in the region”, M

r Benje added.

Large truck operators in Indonesia increasingly

look at the life-cycle costs of trucks, including fuel

consumption, and capacity utilisation, rather than

just the initial truck cost and load capacity, says

Scania. This is expected to benefit European truck

manufacturers such as Scania, as well as others,

Mercedes-Benz and Volvo for exam

ple, which offer

good fuel economy and durable trucks com

pared

with Japanese and Chinese trucks.

Scania is also enjoying strong demand for its

vehicles in Singapore, fuelled by the island-nation’s

construction boom. It sold over 200 trucks in this

market last year and the com

pany claims to have a

strong presence in the bus segment, having delivered

1,100 units since 2007. Deliveries in 2013 are

estimated at around 30 units, however.

As regards other markets in the region, Scania sold

around 670 comm

ercial vehicles in Malaysia and

500 in Thailand last year. It also recently established

dealer operations in Myanm

ar in 2013.

Product

Japan / Germany - Last m

onth saw Kawasaki-

based Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation

New 8.55t Fuso Canter

now on sale in Japan

Aftermarket / Investm

ent

Japan / Singapore - Isuzu Motors Ltd of

Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, Japan, through its subsidiary,

Isuzu Motors Asia Ltd has established a new

aftermarket centre in Singapore to help im

prove

aftermarket parts availability and service backup

across the ASEAN region.

The Singapore centre is to be managed by Isuzu

Motors Asia Ltd and is in response to increasing

volumes of Isuzu m

edium and heavy trucks in use

in the region and rising local content levels. Isuzu

Motors Asia Ltd was established in M

arch 1996

and its function is the control of Isuzu business

in ASEAN countries, supply of CKD parts/service

parts and providing support for after-sales activities

of distributors / dealers in the ASEAN region.

The new aftermarket parts facility has been set

up in Johor, on the southern tip of the Malaysia

peninsula and just across the causeway from

Singapore, with more than 30,000 parts in stock to

supply aftermarket distributors across the region.

A similar centre was established in Dubai in 2010

to serve Middle-Eastern m

arkets.

Isuzu establishes new

aftermarket centre in

Singapore

(a subsidiary of Daimler AG

) introduce a new high-

payload version of its Canter medium

-duty truck

through its network of dealerships across Japan.

The new truck has a payload of almost six tons

and a gross weight of 8.55 tons, compared with

a maxim

um gross weight of 8.25 tons previously.

The new truck model is also being rolled out this

year in 40 other markets worldwide.

Export / Expansion

USA / South Korea – February saw US truck-

maker, Navistar International Corporation of

Lisle, Illinois, USA enter the South Korean market

with the launch of its ProStar 6x4 range of heavy

cargo trucks, powered by its 475hp 12.4-litre

(Maxxforce 13) engine.

The m

ove by

Navistar follows

the recent

implem

entation of a trade agreement between

South-Korea and the USA in March 2012, which

eliminates im

port tariffs on these products.

Navistar says it has sold 70,000 units of this truck

model in the US to date and is upbeat about its

sales prospects in South Korea. The company

claims that the ProStar, which it has priced at KRW

159 million (USD149,000), is 9%

more fuel-efficient

than its European competitors.

Navistar suggests

the South

Korean heavy-

duty truck market is currently 55%

controlled by

European brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Scania,

Volvo and MAN, with the rem

ainder taken up by

domestic trucks from

Hyundai and Tata Daewoo.

Navistar plans to support products in South Korea

through its International truck dealerships, currently

found at six locations and plans to continue to grow

its service and support network.

ProStar units for the Korean market are built at

the company’s assem

bly plant in Springfield, Ohio.

Navistar enters South

Korea’s heavy truck market

SP

EC

IAL S

UP

PLE

ME

NT 1

AP

RIL 2014

Special Supplement to Truck & Bus Builder on C

omm

ercial Vehicle Developm

ents in South America

SOUTH AMERICA

AXLES

1

Dear R

eader,

Welcom

e to

our new

est regional

supplement

recording the

most

important

developments

concerning the

comm

ercial vehicle

manufacturing

industry in Brazil and other South Am

erican countries.

As w

ith our

other regional

supplements,

we

highlight new

business

relationships, new

products, legislation impacting the m

arket and the

manufacturers’ research and production strategies.

As usual we look at the m

arkets by product segment

and w

eight. In

this inaugural

edition w

e have

focussed on the largest market, B

razil.

Jim G

ibbins, editor

Jose C Secco

, local correspondent

Investment

Brazil

/ U

SA

-

Supplying

engines for

new

customer applications in trucks and buses is one

of the key pillars of Cum

mins’ grow

th strategy in

Brazil.

As

part of

this initiative,

Cum

mins

Inc of

Colum

bus, Ohio, through its subsidiary, C

umm

ins

Brasil Ltda of S

ão Paulo, B

razil plans to invest

US

D48m

on engineering technology and in further

modernization

of its

plant in

Guarulhos,

state

of São P

aulo unit, where its diesel engines are

produced. It also announced plans to invest more

than US

D90m

in the first phase of construction

of a new plant at Itatiba, in state of S

ão Paulo,

to where it plans to transfer its energy and filter

business areas. This new plant is expected to

begin operations during 2015.

The com

pany expects

the truck

market

to

grow steadily in 2014, by betw

een five and ten

per cent. A num

ber of truck manufacturers have

launched production

operations recently

with

trucks fitted with C

umm

ins engines. One such

example w

ould be MA

N Latin A

merica, w

hich has

been installing the Cum

mins IS

L 420hp engine in

the VW C

onstellation since 2012. Other brands

that have installed or plan to offer a Cum

mins

Cum

mins to invest U

SD138m

in diesel engine

manufacturing operations in B

razil

engine unit in Brazil are all C

hinese; they include

Beiqi Foton M

otor, Foton Aum

ark do Brasil,

Metro-S

hacman and JA

C M

otors should utilize

the brand’s

engines. Foreign

manufacturers

/

assemblers m

ust comply w

ith local rules, which

require that 65% of com

ponents must be sourced

from w

ithin Brazil – so thus requirem

ent ensures

that the engines are built by Cum

mins in B

razil and

not imported from

China.

Cum

mins estim

ates that nearly 70,000 diesel

engines are to come off its production lines this

year for installation in trucks. For the bus segment,

the company expects an increase in m

arket share

from 11%

to 20% w

ithin three years, with its

engines being offered in a number of new

models

and in

new

applications during

this tim

e; this

includes, says Cum

mins, the supply of engines to

Mercedes-B

enz do Brasil for installation in light-

duty Mercedes-B

enz buses.

Cum

mins Inc has four divisions and business

in Latin

Am

erica is

split as

follows:

Engines

45%, D

istribution 30%, Energy G

eneration 13%

and components 14%

. After a slow

er year than

expected in 2013, the company is now

focused

on meeting forecast projected grow

th.

Import / D

istribution / Agreem

ent

Brazil / C

hina - Following in the footsteps of a

number of its fellow

truck and bus manufacturers,

like Shaanxi A

uto, Sinotruck and Foton, another

Chinese

bus producer,

Shanghai

Shenlong

Bus C

o Ltd (Sunlong) of S

hanghai, China, has

announced that it plans to begin exporting buses

to Brazil before the end of June.

This announcem

ent w

as m

ade by

Brazilian

entrepreneur, Mauri M

oreira de Oliveira, w

ho has

been appointed

as S

unlong’s B

razilian partner.

Oliveira announced that he w

ould be investing

an initial BR

L15m (U

SD

6.4m) to construct a new

distribution centre on an 80,000 sq m site in Juiz

de Fora, in the state of Minas G

erais.

With 35 years of experience in the segm

ent and

having worked w

ith foreign bus chassis builders,

Volvo and Scania and B

razilian bus body builder,

Com

il, Oliveira stated that S

unlong’s arrival in Brazil

would be the result of three years of discussions

and negotiations with the C

hinese builder.

Oliveira says the buses and coaches are to be

imported fully built up ready for operation in the

Brazilian m

arket place and that already, a number of

vehicles were undergoing type approval in the country.

Shenlong Bus appoints industry entrepreneur

in Brazil to sell Sunlong buses

As is com

mon in the passenger car and truck

segments,

buses im

ported from

C

hina have

a

certain attraction and market place due to their

often highly competitive low

price. Oliveira points

out that

the vehicles

being im

ported, how

ever,

incorporate a great deal of advanced technology

to improve both com

fort and safety such as air

suspension, air conditioning systems and A

BS

.

Oliviera says that w

hilst all the imported vehicles

would be equipped w

ith diesel engines, Sunlong

has the technology to offer a full range of other

powertrains

including hybrid

vehicles, electric

vehicles and even buses propelled using fuel cells.

How

ever, import of such m

odels would only be

likely once the Brazilian governm

ent had defined its

incentive programm

e.

Oliveira

also announced

that S

unlong w

ould

consider producing buses in Brazil in a few

years’

time; this w

ould, if it went ahead, be its first plant

outside of China. O

liveira remarked: “O

ur plan is to

win a sm

all slice of the Brazilian m

arket by offering

products that complem

ent the market.”

Sunlong buses to be sold in B

razil are to include

9m to 12m

coaches and 12m city buses.

Brazil - In addition to the ungraded Ford C

argo

816, Ford Trucks of São B

ernardo do Cam

po, has

announced that later this year it plans to expand its

presence in the medium

truck market by offering

the 11 ton Cargo 1119 m

odel. Details w

ere not

released but Ford suggests it will have the highest

output and load capacity in its class.

Product

Ford to offer new 11t truck

Sweden

/ B

razil –

Worldly

knnown

for its

brake system

s and

brake com

ponent products

for comm

ercial vehicles, Sweden’s H

aldex AB

of

Landskrona, is targeting the Brazilian truck and bus

markets to expand sales.

Brazil is, indicates H

aldex, the largest and single

most im

portant country in South America. It points out

that, after a slow year in 2012, the B

razilian economy

once again started to show its strength during 2013.

In addition to a growing econom

y, Brazilian legislation

was also driving technical developm

ent forward. An

emissions standard equivalent to EU

RO

5 had, Haldex

points out, already been introduced, as well as rules

regarding ABS and autom

atic brake adjustment.

AB

S

legislation w

as introduced

in 2013

and

required new trailers in B

razil to be equipped with

AB

S system

s, comm

ents Haldex, adding that the

legislation would be fully im

plemented in 2014.

The AB

S legislation w

as also expected to increase

the penetration rate of automatic brake adjusters

in order to fully utilize AB

S perform

ance. Haldex

draws

attention to

the fact

that annual

trailer

production volume for the S

outh Am

erican market

amounted to approxim

ately 80,000 vehicles.

In its annual report for 2013 it points out that Haldex’

new m

anufacturing plant in São José dos Cam

pos

saw a 50%

increase in production volume. This, it

says, is a brand new facility w

ith a new organization,

so this positive progress is a welcom

e addition to

meet the grow

ing demand in South Am

erica. The

plant in São José dos Cam

pos replaced three former

sites, and it was, says H

aldex, carefully chosen for its

strategic and logistical location.

Sales

Haldex targets Brazilian m

arket

VOLUME 35 ISSUE NUMBER 4 MaRch 2014

www.truckandbusbuilder.com 1

The International Newsletter of commercial Vehicle Manufacturing Developments

Contract

China - BYD Auto Co Ltd of Shenzhen, China, a fast expanding new energy company, with its short but very progressive 15 year history in battery technology and now since 2003 and 2009, also specializing in the manufacture of electrically powered cars and taxis and most recently buses, announced at Busworld last month that it has won an order for 2000 full size electric buses from the City of Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, China.

Paul Lin, senior manager, branding, BYD, explained that the city of Shenzhen announced in July this year that by 2015 all public vehicles buses, taxis and other state-owned vehicles operating in the city would be those that were fully electrically powered only with zero emissions. Lin added that during the recent Universiade2011 (University games) held in Shenzhen in August this year, 40, BYD electric buses (eBUS-12) served the sports village, sports venues and media centre, to provide transportation for competitors, technical officials, reporters and spectators. Lin said that already 200 eBUS-12 were being operated as part of Shenzhen’s public transportation system.

The eBUS-12 is a three-door full low floor city bus made of an all-aluminium monocoque body construction. It is fitted with a synchronous e-motor, which drives through a 3-speed automatic transmission, with electrical energy stored in BYD’s own Fe battery pack, for which BYD calculates, will last a full ten years based on 4000 cycles. (He also stated that the company made battery packs with capacity for 6000 full cycles, the equivalent to 15 years life). The battery pack, says Lin, can then be recycled for energy storage in another application such as solar power storage. The eBUS is fitted with ZF rear drive axle and has electronically controlled air suspension front and rear which provides a kneeling function. Lin is also able to installed the 100kW charging station and thereby provide a turn key solution to

Vehixel and Indcar announce collaboration to expand business internationally

its customers).The eBUS-12, has a curb weight of 13.8t and

offers what Lin considers to be a conservative range of 250km on a single charge in urban conditions with stop-start depending on the duty cycle (280 to 300km is possible on less demanding routes, says Lin). The bus can be fully charged in 3.5 hours with a 100kW charger; energy consumption, says BYD, is around 130kWh/100km with a battery power pack density of 324kwh.

BYD exhibited at both APTA Expo in New Orleans, USA and Busworld in Kortrijk, Belgium, last month to introduce its eBus on both continents. At Busworld, Lin announced that the eBus would enter trial service in several European cities, including Copenhagen and Frankfurt, in the coming months. It is also understood that BYD’s electric bus has started undergoing trials at one of the world’s busiest airports in the city of Los Angeles.

The company added that the eBUS-12 was the first in a range of electric buses under development; other variants are to include a 10m model (eBUS-10, 280km per charge), a double deck (eBUS-12D, 200km per charge) and a right-hand-drive version of its eBUS-12.

A further development announced as Future Fuels & Power was going to press was an agreement signed by BYD and Daimler AG to establish “Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co Ltd,” a 50:50 research and technology centre to develop electric cars in China.

A further development announced as Future Fuels & Power was going to press was an agreement signed by BYD and Daimler AG to establish “Shenzhen BYD Daimler New Technology Co Ltd,” a 50:50 research and technology centre to develop electric cars in China.

A further development announced as Future Fuels & Power was going to press and technology centre to develop electric cars in China.

Product / Technology

Product / Technology

USA - BAE Systems of Johnston City, New York, USA used APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana, last month to launch, the HDS 300 system, its HybriDrive series propulsion system for articulated buses.

Based on the company’s proven HDS 200 hybrid electric propulsion system technology currently deployed in more than 3,500 transit buses across the globe, the HDS 300 system will allow higher capacity buses with gross vehicle weight ratings of up to 63,000lbs (28.6t).

BAE Systems said it was currently working with bus manufacturers New Flyer and Nova Bus to make its HDS 300 hybrid electric propulsion system available to North American bus transit fleets. The system, BAE added, can be purchased as a standard package or with electrified accessories which further increase the system’s efficiency by reducing energy demands on the engine. Electric accessories offer reduced maintenance and improved safety over their conventional counterparts, eliminating the normal jungle of belts and hydraulic lines from the engine compartment.

USA - BAE Systems of Johnston City, New York, USA used APTA Expo 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana, last month to launch, the HDS 300 system, its HybriDrive series propulsion system for articulated buses.

Based on the company’s proven HDS 200 hybrid electric propulsion system technology currently deployed in more than 3,500 transit buses across the globe, the HDS 300 system will allow higher capacity buses with gross vehicle weight ratings of up to 63,000lbs (28.6t).

BAE Systems said it was currently working with bus manufacturers New Flyer and Nova Bus to make its HDS 300 hybrid electric propulsion system available to North American bus transit fleets. The system, BAE added, can be purchased as a standard package or with electrified accessories which further increase.

Kässbohrer moves into truck body building

Irizar plans entry into USA

Truck & Bus Builder

IN THIS ISSUE

Dietrich Carebus pioneer’s new child seat 2

Indcar to build buses in Romania 3

DCG importing Yutong coaches to Europe 4

EEC trailer innovation award results 6

ATDyanmics enters Europe with boat-tail 8

Foton enters Europe with new energy 9

Germany / USA - Voith Turbo GmbH & Co KG of Heidenheim, Germany, has opened a hybrid power-train development centre in Poway, California, north of San Diego for the further development of its hybrid diesel/electric drive systems for transit buses.

Also, a large solar panel installation provides electricity for most day-to-day facility operations.

“We are extremely excited to open a US-based Hybrid Power-Train Development Centre,” said Rob Wiss, vice president, Voith Turbo US Road Division. “The centre will allow us to further develop hybrid bus technologies and cater to

Voith opens US hybrid centre

the specific needs of our customers who want to expand their use of this emerging technology. Above all, we are making an important contribution to the US economy by expanding the use of clean-energy technology in transportation fleets across the country.”

California-based Maxwell Technologies is to supply Voith with ultra capacitors; it already uses Maxwell to supply systems for its patented DIWAhybrid parallel drive system, which went into production last month. Voith has been working with Gillig to field test its parallel DIWAhybrid drive system and says the clean-energy technology in transportation aim of the Hybrid Power-Train Development Center to expand on DIWA and create new hybrid technologies for the US market.

Development SAMPLE

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show. He said the bus transport business and the bus manufacturing industry had undergone a sea change since 2001, the year the company had started in India. He pointed out that Volvo has pursued a strategy of maximising its local content and that the bus body in all Volvo buses in India was now 100 per cent localised. In addition it was now building buses in India for the European market; he said that its low-entry city bus, the Volvo 8400 fitted with a Euro VI compliant driveline, built in India had been sold and delivered to operators in Spain and in France.

Volvo Bus said that the new coach is to be manufactured at Volvo Buses’ facility near Hosakote, Bangalore.

Volvo stated that it has sold more than 6000 buses in India, which includes 4,500 coaches and some 1,500 city buses.

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