SOUTH AMERICA - Busworld · Special Supplement to Truck & Bus Builder on Commercial Vehicle...

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

SOUTH AMERICA

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

News from Busworld Latin America held in Medellin on December 6-8, 2016 - Extract from T&BB South America Supplement 11

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 / Market

China / Colombia / Brazil – At the inaugural Busworld Latin America exhibition in Medellin Colombia last month, Rene Medeiros, commercial director of Songz Automobile Air Conditioning Co Ltd for the Brazilian market said the air conditioning and refrigeration systems supplier had recently established a sales and service office in Sao Paulo, Brazil and that, eventually, it planned to establish an assembly plant for customers in Brazil and other South American countries. (Bus air conditioning units are currently shipped complete from China to Latin America for fitment by either the OE or by the local aftermarket service partner).

With sales already established in Colombia, Chile and Ecuador, the market for air conditioning in

Songz plans expansion in South AmericaBrazil is set to expand significantly, said Medeiros, as air conditioning in some of Brazil’s major cities, which can reach temperatures of 45 degrees, are to make fitment of air conditioning systems in new buses compulsory. For instance, 100% of new buses delivered to the City of Rio de Janeiro from December 1, 2016 are to be fitted with air conditioning. This same regulation will apply to Sao Paulo from June 1, 2017. Sao Paulo, said Medeiros, has a bus population of some 15,000 units. All buses are fitted with a manufacturers’ and operators’ date and after a period of ten years, it is mandatory to replace the vehicle.

Medeiros said that it also plans to bring the Songz range of truck refrigeration to Brazil.

Investment / Expansion

Argentina / Colombia – With start of production scheduled for the end of this year, Argentina’s largest seat manufacturer, Faic Technologia en Asientos (Faic) of Rosario, is setting up a new plant in Pereira, Colombia for manufacturing and supplying seats to customers in the USA, Canada and Central America.

Dr Marcelo Prat, commercial director for Faic, explained that over the next ten months it would be installing equipment to manufacture and assemble a full range of seats with start of production scheduled for November / December 2016. The first seats manufactured are to be its

Faic building seat plant in Colombiahigh-end luxury large executive leather coach seats, followed by its textile (Epengle) coach seat range and then finally its vinyl (Spalding) bus seat range. The project is expected to be fully-operational over the next two to three years. The operation is to be based in the free trade zone of Pereira from where it can more easily supply and service its North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) customers as well as others in the Andean community of South America such as Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and Venezuela. Asked why Faic chose Colombia, Prat said that it has a free trade agreement with the United States.

Investment / R&D

Brazil – With an investment allocation totalling BRL70m (USD22m) Mercedes-Benz do Brasil has announced it has started construction of its first test / proving grounds for commercial vehicles in Brazil.

The new testing ground facility, which is located in Iracemápolis, adjacent to its new car plant that was inaugurated last year, is to be used for the international development of trucks and buses. The facilities are to extend to 1.3 million square metres (sq m), where 18 asphalt, concrete and off-road tracks are to be built, providing a total test track length of 25km.

The site was chosen for the 2.5 million square metres of land and its location in the interior of São Paulo which is much more accessible for the

Mercedes-Benz to build new testing ground for CVscompany’s technicians, who are located in São Bernardo.

Philipp Schiemer, Mercedes-Benz president of Brazil, stated that it would be the largest and most comprehensive commercial vehicle testing ground in the Southern Hemisphere. The opening of the test track is scheduled for the end of 2017. Strong financial incentives through the government body, Inovar-Auto, was another key reason the location, Schiemer also acknowledged.

When this facility comes on stream, Mercedes-Benz will no longer use rented tracks. The work undertaken will be for both local and international projects, and compatible with the Mercedes-Benz facilities at its main factory and truck development centre in Wörth, Germany.

NPU looking for foreign bus body partner to offer new products in Colombia

Bogota – One of Colombia’s oldest bus builders, Non Plus Ultra SA (NPU) of Bogota, which imports CKD chassis from three Chinese chassis manufacturers (Dongfeng, Foton and JAC) announced at the show that it is exploring options to work with a foreign bus body builder to import designs into Colombia for the Colombian market. A spokesman for the company, Ivan Gonzales, explained that said NPU was able to build a wide range of buses and that it currently had the capacity to build 50 units a month.

At the show it announced the development of two bus bodies for the Mercedes-Benz 813 Atego chassis as well as announcing a fully integral 8m 29 seat city bus called 8-160 Onix Plus, powered using a Cummins ISB 3.9-litre Euro IV SCR-only engine.

Collaboration

Schiemer said: “We are going to undertake tests here in several commercial vehicles within the group, that require more severe conditions of application, which are not found in Europe.” He added that despite this most unfavourable phase in Brazil’s market economy, this investment shows that Mercedes continues to believe in Brazil. Schiemer believes that there is a long way to go over the next few years because the Brazilian truck and bus fleet is driven by diesel and the country needs to replace those trucks that are more than 20 years old in order to improve the environment, which, represents 30% of the national fleet!

SouTh AmericA

Publisher: Truck & Bus Builder Publishing Ltd, PO Box 15, Williton, Taunton, Somerset, TA4 4YP, England / www.truckandbusbuilder.com Tel: +44 (0)1984 618707 / Fax: +44 (0)1984 618708 E-mail: [email protected] Registered in England No. 2673180

Subscription rate: Truck & Bus Builder SOuTh AmERicA – Quarterly Supplement. The price of an annual subscription (4 issues) is uK: GBP130 / uSA, canada & Rest of World: uSD260/ Europe: EuR190. (Note this Supplement is free to subscribers of Truck & Bus Builder). Those wishing to just subscribe to Truck & Bus Builder

SOuTh AmERicA can download a subscription form at: www.truckandbusbuilder.com or request a form from Katie molyneux at [email protected]

© 2017 - All copyright is reserved - Truck & Bus Builder Publishing Ltd.

2 www.truckandbusbuilder.com

Scania offers safety systems as standardBogota / Brazil – Launched as a world premiere,

Scania Colombia SAS of Bogota, together with its chosen body-builder partner, Busscar de Colombia SAS of Pereira, and gas network supplier, gasnatural fenosa of Bogota, Colombia, displayed a 27m bi-articulated high floor BRT CNG bus for trial by the transportation authorities in Bogota.

The prototype vehicle offers a capacity of 250 passengers. It is fitted with Scania’s 9-litre Euro 6 gas engine mounted in the front of the vehicle offering up to 340hp and is matched with an Allison transmission with intarder and Scania axles. The gas tanks consist of five units located beneath the floor of the front and mid-chassis of the vehicle – the incorporation of has been the responsibility of Busscar. Nicolas Camacho Salgrado, sales engineer at Scania Colombia explained that it is the advanced technology of the stoichiometric engine that enables Scania to operate the bus at much higher altitudes; Bogota, at 2,644m is approximately 1,000 metres above the previous altitude height operating limit of many other gas and Scania’s previous engines in cities like Medellin, which has an altitude of some 1,495m. (At altitude as the air becomes thinner, more air is required to give the same performance as when operating at a lower altitude).

This engine, Salgrado explained, uses sensors to constantly monitor the combustion performance. The sensors effectively monitor the air to fuel ratio (AFR) to

Show Report

Colombia - The first Busworld Latin America took place in Medellin, Colombia, last month, a country where the general view of the exhibitors’ was that it is becoming one of the most important and fastest growing markets in Latin America. Colombia is an extremely mountainous country with very hilly topography even in the main cities, which traditionally prescribes, for the most part, high floor buses for city, interurban and intercity / tourism transport. The bus and coach market, which varies between 3,000 and 4,000 units a year, is a body on chassis market with the majority of small and medium-sized vehicles built on truck chassis and with the larger heavy-duty coaches being built on a mix of front and rear engine dedicated coach chassis. According to NPU, there are four licensed chassis assemblers in Colombia, which are all based in Bogota – Isuzu / Chevrolet, Hino, Mercedes-Benz and NPU – to supply small and medium chassis, whereas for the heavy-duty coach market there are importers like Volvo and Scania as well as the first three former named Bogota assemblers, which also supply heavy-duty chassis from their operations in Brazil.

Exhibitors at the show said the country’s government was looking to take steps to improve many aspects of the passenger transportation industry with introduction of new regulations to improve build quality, safety, accessibility, vehicle fuel efficiency and the environment. There is talk that the country will move from Euro IV to Euro V during the second quarter this year – although some of the chassis manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Scania are already offering just Euro V compliant vehicles as standard. New regulations also mean that from January 1, 2017, all new city buses must have wheelchair access and from July 1, 2017 this will also apply to intercity or interurban models. Dhollandia Colombia was on-hand at the show to display a variety of options for OEMs to use to meet these new accessibility regulations. In terms of safety, according to a Scania representative, ABS (anti-lock braking) becomes mandatory in all buses and coaches from January 1, 2017.

In addition, the country is in the process of signing a peace agreement with the guerrillas after 50 years of war and the government is investing heavily in infrastructure, according Benoit Tanguy, managing director of Scania Colombia. This includes development of infrastructure in parts of the country where most of the population has not been before, which again is expected to boost demand for coaches. “This market will grow definitely,” said Tanguy. He added that there were a lot of opportunities in BRT. For instance, the city of Cartagena, which started BRT in the country, a city with a population of one million inhabitants, has strong opportunities for new and replacement BRT vehicles and systems; this can also be said of the other three main cities of Cali, Bogota and Medellin.

The show had no fewer than seven chassis suppliers and more than a dozen bus body builders represented. The highlight was the world premiere of the bi-articulated high floor gas bus prototype built jointly by partners Scania and Busscar Colombia for trials in Bogota. The partnership is further supported by a third partner, Fenosa, the company responsible for the supply of the natural gas and fuelling infrastructure.

Below is a summary of the new products and developments at the show.

Busworld Latin America in Medellin highlights the growth potential of the Colombian bus and coach market

check whether there is too much / too little air or too much too little fuel in order to stabilise the burn inside the engine and to provide the power demand at any given time. This technology thus allows the vehicle to operate at higher altitudes since there is no longer a fixed ratio between gas and air, stated Salgardo. He added that the engine offers better efficiency as well as much cleaner exhaust emissions to Euro 6 standards. The stoichiometric engine is highly flexible with regards to the gas quality as sensors are also used to monitor this and to adjust the burn accordingly. This allows both natural gas and biogas to be used as a single source or equally, as a blend of both.

Benoit Tanguy, managing director of Scania Colombia said that Colombia and particularly Bogota was in the top three markets in Latin America with huge potential for fleet renewal. Tanguy said it was not easy to start such a project on its own and it was necessary to work with partners to design, develop and deliver the complete solution for the customer. Tanguy added that this partnership strategy ensures that Scania can maintain the vehicle properly during its lifetime.

According to Alejandro Robredo, director general, Busscar de Colombia, said the biggest challenge had been designing the body structure to accommodate ten CNG cylinders on either side of the chassis and under the floor, whilst ensuring the correct weight distribution. He said this was particularly a challenge as this was the first CNG powered bus it had developed for the Colombian market and specifically for Bogota. There

are five CNG tanks located on either side of the chassis, of different sizes and located in the front and mid-section of the vehicle. The vehicle structure is made of stainless steel with a corrosion protection inside (wax) and out (paint).

Robredo said this was its fifth new vehicle design since the family-owners of Busscar Colombia had acquired the remaining shares in Busscar Colombia from Busscar Brazil in 2014. (Busscar Colombia started out as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Busscar Brazil in 2002). Since the purchase of the remaining shares in 2014, its engineers have developed and launched four new vehicles, these include: an 18m articulated diesel bus for Mexico City; a double deck coach body for Colombia; an 18m bus body on a Euro 6 CNG chassis for Cartagena (22 are in operation and 32 are to be delivered by June 2017) and an intercity 13m 3.6m high model. Robredo said that Busscar produces approximately 1,000 units a year and holds a market share of some 60% of Colombia’s BRT operations and about 25% of the Colombian bus and coach market overall. It employs about a 1,000 people and its biggest investment in recent years has been in engineering and R&D.

Scania offers safety systems as standardBrazil - While ABS is to become mandatory in

Colombia in all buses and coaches from January 1, 2017, Scania Latin America Ltda of Sao Paolo for several years already has been offering a number of safety technologies. For instance, on its entire coach chassis for the past four years it has been offering ABS (anti-lock braking), EBS (electronic braking system) and ESC (electronic stability control) as standard. Another safety system, which has been standard also for the past four years in Brazil, is the additional hydraulic retarder from Scania, which is fitted with both its manual and automated (Opticruise) gearbox, stated Benoit Tanguy, managing director of Scania Colombia. He said that the Opticruise with retarder had also been standard in its coach chassis for Colombia for the past year, as this combination offers greater safety as it allows the driver to focus on his driving.

JGB displays luxury decker at showJGB – Carrocerias JGB of Bogota used the show to

display its latest double deck coach model, the Majestic. The double deck on the stand featured two entrances one in front of and one to the rear of the driver’s off side front wheel. This allows passengers to use either entrance to gain access to the upper deck, while the second ‘mid’ section entrance gave access to the VIP area on the lower deck. The lower deck featured a door enclosed VIP area fitted with executive Faic (Argentina) leather seats in 2+1 configuration, which incorporated an airline type entertainment screen. It also included air conditioning, mobile phone chargers and LED lighting. The upper deck offered seating in 2+2 configuration, 188mm standing height and two escape roof hatches The vehicle has two toilets one on the upper deck at the rear and one on the lower deck opposite the second entrance. The company said that the vehicle is made using mild steel with a corrosion protection system. The show vehicle was presented on a Scania 6x2 chassis; it is also available on a Volvo chassis. The engineer for the vehicle said that it started production of this double deck coach model in 2015 (a year later than Marcopolo) and that it has sold 22 vehicles since then.

The initials, JGB, are the initials of the founder of the company, Juan Gonzales Bavativa (JGB), which he established in 1986 (previously the company has been a repair centre). The company, which makes single deck coaches as well as a double deck open top tour bus, says it sell sonly to the Colombian market and makes an average of 800 coaches a year. Continued on p4.

SouTh AmericA

3www.truckandbusbuilder.com

Megabusses de Colombia – A new bus and coach builder

Bogota – Megabusses de Colombia is the name of the new bus and coach body builder founded by the company’s commercial director, Pedro Bohorquez some 14 months ago. Bohorquez, a former design engineer at Marcopolo said the business fulfilled his dream of building buses to his own design and that in its short existence it had built already 80 units. On the stand two vehicles were on display, a 7m (28 seats) and a 9m (40 seats) coach. Bohorquez said the vehicles were built on front engine Euro 4 chassis supplied by either Isuzu Chevrolet or Hino. The body is made of mild steel with an anti-corrosion treatment with GRP panelling on the upper body and sheet metal lower down. Bohorquez said he planned to expand his output and range to 12-15 coaches a month and to add 14.5m luxury single deck and double deck models to its range. These would be on rear engine chassis and was discussing options with Volvo and Mercedes-Benz.

Bohorquez added that from February 2017, he planned to offer vehicles on Euro 5 chassis. He also said he was researching the world market for a coach builder, whose designs it could introduce and build for the Colombian market.

GM Isuzu to conduct trials of Isuzu ERGA CNG-powered low-entry city bus

Bogota – General Motors Isuzu Camiones Andinos* of Bogota used the show to introduce a RHD Isuzu ERGA** CNG-powered low-entry city bus imported from Japan to announce plans to conduct research trials at 2,600m in the city of Bogota.

A representative for GM Isuzu, which is a supplier of trucks and bus chassis to Colombia and surrounding markets under the joint logo of Isuzu and Chevrolet, said the trials would be without passengers but the vehicle would be artificially loaded to the maximum gross vehicle weight. The focus of the trials is to see how it operates at altitude, said the spokesman, adding that Colombia would be the trial country for the entire Latin American continent. GM Isuzu said that it planned to modify and change aspects of the engine such as incorporate direct injection with turbocharging replacing the indirect system currently. Expectations are that it would aim to bring to market an in-service vehicle in left hand drive within three to four years.

Diana Avila, Chevrolet Bus and Truck Marketing Manager, remarked: “We believe in the development of each country and that is why, as market leaders, we develop projects like the ERGA Bus. Currently, this vehicle is in tests and we hope that in the near future will complement the bus line Chevrolet with which we participate today in each of our operations. Avila added: “Vehicles for the mass transit of natural gas passengers are attracting attention, thanks to their low CO2 emissions, lower maintenance costs compared with diesel engines, lower fuel costs and reduced driver fatigue as a result of less noise and vibration.”

Akiyoshi Kishi, director of planning and engineering at Isuzu added: “Chevrolet works together with its customers to help open new doors in the mass transportation industry in South America with products that emphasize environmental performance, passenger comfort and safety in handling, this new product is well positioned to meet the needs of bus operations, in addition to complying with local regulations in each country. Looking to the future, Isuzu buses will continue to build on a tradition of excellence to deliver even more reliability to customers around the world.”

GM Isuzu, which builds the small N and medium-duty F series trucks and bus chassis in Bogota for the Colombian and Andean markets, has already begun sales of medium-size CNG bus chassis into the market for 28-30 passengers; these are used below 1,600m altitude and were introduced three months ago. (This

vehicle is mounted on an Isuzu / Chevrolet NPR chassis, which is fitted with a 4.57-litre 4-cylinder CNG 128hp engine (Isuzu 4HV1)).

Chevrolet Isuzu is working with natural gas supplier, GasNatural Fenosa of Bogota to support its natural gas vehicles. The Isuzu Chevrolet representative said that there was an extensive network for CNG in the more developed ‘corridors’ of Colombia as there had been a boom in conversions of vehicles used for taxi’s between 200 and 2013. Demand for gas vehicles rose, he explained, due to the restriction on the use of petrol and diesel cars in cities to alternate days in the main cities of Colombia.

Daily output in Bogota during 2015 to 2016 has been between 17 and 23 units (truck / bus chassis) a day, said the representative, who added that it was unlikely that the company would extend the range up into the heavy-duty truck segment as this segment was already too crowded.

*General Motors Isuzu Camiones Andinos is a joint venture established in 2008 between General Motors Corporation of Detroit, Michigan, USA and Japan’s Isuzu Motors Corporation. This had followed a Memorandum of Understanding the previous year (2007) between the two companies’ local Colombian subsidiaries, GM Dodge (est. 1946) and Isuzu Colombia (est. 1992).

**The Isuzu ERGA bus, which is currently used in cities such as Tokyo, has a capacity for 32 to 42 seated passengers. It is 10.08m long, 2.45m wide and 3.3m high. It also comes equipped with a low floor area at the front, allowing easy access to the vehicle, even for the elderly and disabled. It has an electronic suspension system that allows equalization of suspension when stationary to ensure easy passenger access and an integrated body structure facilitating a lightweight structural design.

Orion and DINA in exclusive body and chassis partnership for luxury coaches

Mexico / Chia – Truck and bus builder, Dina Camiones SA de CV* of Mexico City, Mexico used the show to announce a new exclusive partnership with local body builder, Orion Autocarress of Chia (Bogota) Colombia. Instead of importing fully-built buses and coaches from Mexico, Dina, under this new arrangement is to supply chassis to Orion for bodying for the Colombian market; Orion will be the sole and exclusive body builder of Dina chassis. (This is a new strategic direction for Dina, according to show representative Erick Zamacona Aboumrad, export specialist at Dina, as it is the first time Dina has sold a chassis for bodying by an independent local body builder – Dina traditionally produces its own bodies on its own dedicated chassis).

On display at the show was the new partners’ first new prototype model, the FX. This was a 10m two-axle coach with seats for 37 passengers and toilet. The driveline consisted of a Cummins 6.7 litre Euro V diesel engine, Allison automatic transmission and Meritor axles. However, two models are to be offered initially, the FX Midi (as mentioned above) at 10.14m in length, 2.45m wide and 3.45m high and the FX Bus, which measures at 12.5m in length, 2.45m wide and 3.643m high and is fitted with 41 seats plus toilet.

*Dina Camiones SA de CV re-opened for business in 2005 following a period of the company being ‘mothballed’, whilst the family ownership was re-organised. Commercial vehicle production is in Hidalgo, Mexico. Exports to Colombia until now have been complete vehicles including delivery of some 200 high floor 9m city buses to Medellin.

Colombia – A major target market for Mercedes-Benz Bogotá

Bogota – Mercedes-Benz Bogotá of Bogota, Colombia was at the show displaying a horizontally rotating version of its Mercedes-Benz Atego 813 Euro V (8t gvw) 130hp chassis, which was highlighting the key

components (SCR exhaust system with Ad-Blue tank, on-board diagnosis system) that contribute to the Euro V emissions standard and which it is now offering to customers on the Colombian market operating in the small to medium sized urban, tourism and specialty (school) public transportation sectors. In addition to this chassis model, also available on the Colombia market at Euro V are the larger medium-duty Mercedes-Benz Atego 916t (9t gvw 160hp) and 1016 (10t gvw 160hp) chassis model. All Euro V chassis offer up to 10% fuel improvement over their Euro IV and Euro III predecessors.

Guilliano Bruno Decicino, market manager, Sales Buses Latin America for Daimler, said that all its bus and coach chassis portfolio was now available meeting Euro V standards including its range of heavy-duty rear-engine chassis namely the RS 1836. He added that its chassis would all now be Euro V compliant as standard, due to the better fuel efficiency and the desire by major cities to improve air quality. Euro V emissions standards, however, were not expected to become compulsory in Colombia until 2018 or 2019; Euro III and IV chassis, he said, were still available at the customer’s request. On the first day of the show, it sold six buses of the Atego 813 chassis.

Decicino said that Daimler Buses was now targeting sales strongly in Colombia. Recent studies suggest that that there were significant opportunities for fuel efficient chassis in the cities of Colombia. While 85% of the Colombian bus market volume in Colombia is made up of four cities Medellin, Bogota, Cali and Barranquilla, some 45% of the market is made up of owner-operators, said Decinino. Mercedes-Benz Bogotá is working with a total of seven Mercedes-Benz approved body builders, whereby the engineering teams have co-ordinated the homologation engineering between the chassis and the body. Currently, 75 per cent of the market is taken up by three body builders, said Decicino; they are Superpolo (a subsidiary of Marcopolo), Busscar de Colombia and JGB. Decicino said that in the small-medium weight segment 7-8 tons gvw it has a 20 per cent market share.

The company’s strategy is to sell complete buses through its truck dealer network. Its target share of the market in 2017 is 10%; currently it believes its share stands at around 3.5% of the total bus and coach market (circa 4,000 units in 2016).

Also on the fair was a natural gas powered Euro 6 240hp compliant urban bus with Marcopolo body. The vehicle, which is based on a modular chassis and designed for evaluating what the market potential is for this type of vehicle, had a Mercedes-Benz natural gas engine (built in Brazil), ZF fully-automatic transmission and Daimler axles. It has been trialled by the city of Medellin for the past six months, said Decicino, and Mercedes-Benz Bogotá would shortly be submitting a modified variant for a tender of 80 units. The modular chassis design allows the 2442 6x2 chassis to be shipped as a CKD from its chassis plant in Bernado do Campo in Brazil to its chassis assembly plant in Bogota.

Songz plans expansion in South AmericaBrazil - Songz Automobile Air Conditioning Co

Ltd of Sao Paulo, Brazil (a subsidiary of air conditioning and refrigeration group in Shanghai, China) has opened a sales subsidiary in Sao Paulo and is looking to set up an assembly plant in the vicinity – see separate article in this issue.

Faic building seat production facility in Pereira

Argentina / Colombia – With start of production scheduled for the end of this year, Argentina’s largest seat manufacturer, Faic Technologia en Asientos of Rosario, announced at the show it was setting up a new plant in Pereira for supplying to its existing customers in the USA, Canada and Central America –see details on page 1 of this issue.

Continued from p3.

Show Report - Busworld Latin America

SouTh AmericA

4 www.truckandbusbuilder.com

Alternative Fuel / Trials

Brazil – ‘Following successful trials in Brazil of a Swedish-built bio-methane / CNG fuelled interurban bus, Scania Latin America Ltda of Bernardo do Campo – SP has announced that it is to offer three vehicles built at its plant in São Paulo. These are: the high floor OK 280 4×2, which can receive bodies from 12.5 to 13.2m in length and carry from 86 to 100 passengers; the low floor K 280 6×2, 15m long, two steering-axles and capacity for up to 130 passengers - both equipped with a 280-horsepower engine - and the high floor K 320 6 × 2/2, an 18m articulated vehicle with a capacity of 160 occupants with an output of 320hp. To begin the demonstrations, Scania plans to start demonstrations of these buses with the low floor K 280 6×2, 15m, with capacity for up to 130 passengers.

Silvio Munhoz, director of Scania’s Bus Sales in Brazil remarking on the benefit of gas buses, said: “Since Scania brought the Swedish model to Brasil at the end of 2014 for a series of presentations, the vehicle, which uses either bio methane, CNG or a mixture of both in any proportion, has aroused interest as a solution to more sustainable urban mobility. This bus draws attention to the reduction of operating costs per kilometre, as well as noise pollution and emissions. Compared with a diesel-like vehicle, in fact, it emits 85% less gaseous pollutants, if fuelled with bio methane and 70% if it has CNG.”

Whilst Scania buses - powered using bio methane or CNG, or even with the mixture of both

Scania to trial locally built gas-powered buses- is already wide spread in Europe, there was still a requirement for some engineering changes locally to meet the needs of the Brazilian operator, said Scania; this was mainly to the layout of the body. The model, however, receives the powertrain from Sweden; the engine already complies with Euro VI emissions legislation and in Brazil, the current law requires compliance with Euro V. The body structure of the low floor chassis model (OK 280 6×2) was reinforced so the fuel cylinders - six in total and each with a capacity of 200 litres - were installed on the roof. In the case of the high floor versions, the gas cylinders are installed below the floor.

* Between October 2014 and August 2015 eight demonstrations of the Scania bio methane / CNG bus were conducted with presentations for authorities, customers and representatives of public and private institutions. The vehicle was first run by Sorocaba (SP), followed by Londrina (PR), Florianópolis (SC), São José dos Campos (SP) and in São Paulo. Between June and August 2015 the vehicle was run on CNG only and on two lines of the SPTrans System covering 5,000km; the results were measured by Netz Automotive Engineering. The field tests showed the cost per km of CNG was 28% lower than that of diesel, including the consumption of Arla 32 (Ad-Blue). The vehicle was also tested with bio methane for three months – from October to November 2014, at Itaipu Binacional; during January 2015 in Rio Grande do Sul, and in March 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. No figures were given for these trials, however.

Please tick subscription rate based on delivery address.

uK Europe uSA, canada & Rest of World GBP 381.60* EUR 468.00** USD 636.00

* GBP 318.00 + VAT.** EuR 468.00 is exclusive of VAT. Ec members who do not supply a VAT registration number will be charged VAT.

Name:

Position:

company:

Address:

city: Postcode:

country:

Tel no:

E-mail:

Method of Payment

cREDiT cARD

ViSA / mastercard / American Express (delete as appropriate) cARD NO:

ExPiRY DATE: SEcuRiTY cODE:

NAmE ON cARD SiGNATuRE

Contact Information

chEQuE

Please make cheques payable to Truck & Bus Builder.

iNVOicE

An invoice will be sent and sub activated upon receipt of payment.

To be completed by EC members only VAT No.

(last three/four digits on security strip)

Please return this form to: Truck & Bus Builder,

unit 4, Ashfield Farm Business Park,

crowcombe, Taunton, Somerset,

TA4 4AW, ENGLAND

For more information visit www.truckandbusbuilder.com

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


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.




to establish “Shenzhen BYD Daimler New

Technology Co Ltd,” a 50:50 research and

technology centre to develop electric cars in China.




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



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


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.



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

Truck & Bus Builder12 monthly issues including supplements SUbSCRIbE TOdAy!

No buyer found yet for Busscar assets

Brazil - The third attempted auction of Busscar Ônibus SA, which has its headquarters in Joinville, State of Santa Catarina held in early July last year and the most anticipated in recent months, again finished without an offer from a prospective buyer - the company was offered as a whole at 49% of the appraised value and then as separated business units. As a result of there being no bids, the courts now have to decide on how to move forward to sell the company’s assets and to pay creditors.

The auctioneer, Tatiane Santos Duarte, that Is trying to sell Busscar has still not ruled out finding a buyer, as it is common practice for prospective buyers to wait for the price to drop further still before making an offer. Furthermore, in cases involving manufacturing operations, the process is very often very time consuming.

Also, as the bankruptcy law in Brazil states that property can only be sold by auction, the substitute judge of the 5th Civil Court in Joinville, Santin Walter Junior, must now decide on the procedures going forward for the sale of the company assets.

One of the possibilities provided by law is for closed bids to be submitted in advance, which opened on the day of the auction.

Bankruptcy / Sale

BRAZILOctober 16 to 20: Fenatrans 2017Venue: Exhibition Pavilion Anhembi - Sao PauloE: [email protected]: www.fenatran.com.br

SOUTH AMERICA - Busworld · Special Supplement to Truck & Bus Builder on Commercial Vehicle...

Documents

Transcript of SOUTH AMERICA - Busworld · Special Supplement to Truck & Bus Builder on Commercial Vehicle...