Chinese Bus Maker Yutong Promotes Tourist Coaches for Taiwan

Taipei, Dec. 26, 2011 (CENS)--Chinese bus maker Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. recently announced to tap Taiwan's tourism-bus market by promoting its latest large bus meeting fifth-stage emission standards on the island, also planning to introduce hybrid buses to Taiwan in 2012, to tap business opportunities created by Taiwan's opening to FITs from China.

The Chinese bus maker has a local agent in Taiwan; while the local carmaker Yulon Group reportedly discussed with Yutong joint development of hybrid buses, which only recently yielded progress.

Yutong stressed that all parts and components on the Taiwan-assembled buses will be imported from its factory in Henan Province, with the vehicle frames anti-rust coated.

With strong cost competitiveness, Yutong had successfully tapped Taiwan's ride-height-adjustable public-bus market by selling more than 100 such vehicles. So far Yutong's local agent still has orders for over 100 height-adjustable buses to be gradually delivered starting early 2012, with Yutong standing on firm ground to compete with South Korean bus maker Daewoo for the No. 1 position in such niche.

Of the three new tourist coaches demonstrated by Yutong in Taiwan, the 6858HG 29-seat mid-sized model is priced about NT$4 million (US$133,333), similar to that of a 20-seat Japanese counterpart.

Industry insiders said that strongly cost-competitive Chinese height-adjustable buses have overwhelmed Taiwan's public-bus market in recent years by sidelining European, Korean and Japanese counterparts. Taiwan is scheduled to implement the fifth-stage emission standard (the world's toughest) in 2012, which will raise the cost of cleaning existing diesel-engine buses. That, the sources said, creates new opportunity for Chinese bus makers to further take away shares from European and Japanese rivals.