by: Jenny McLane
Volvo makes an important move by launching the first midi-bus in China. Shanghai, one of the fastest growing financial centers in Asia has placed an order for 87 city buses from Volvo Buses. More than half of these will be the first midi-buses in China.
City bus operator ShenXin Bus of Shanghai, a joint venture company owned by ComfortDelgro Group of Singapore and Dazhong Group of China, ordered a 40 12-metre Volvo B7R Buses and 47 10.5-metre Volvo B6R Buses. All buses are air-conditioned. The midi-bus is very popular in China and is in fact a bestseller. A total volume of about 25,000 buses over 10m are sold every year.
The new buses will augment Dazhong group's fleet of 5,200 buses, 290 of which are Volvos. Dazhong Group currently consists of five bus operators. On the other hand, ShenXin has 590 buses, including 69 Volvo B7Rs. Michael Liew; CEO of ShenXin said that most of the company's 590 buses consist of some 20 different models of mainly Chinese brand. He further divulged that this fact presented a challenge when it comes to maintenance and repair. They decided to purchase more buses from Volvo, owing to the positive experience they gained from the first Volvo buses they bought. This is part of a long term partnership between ComfortDelgro, ShenXin and Volvo.
Liew added that one of the reasons why they chose Volvo is that the aftersales support is excellent. Thus, they are also planning a five-year service contract for the new buses. Sunwin Bus of China, a joint venture between Volvo Buses and SAIC of Shanghai, will manufacture the buses and will be ready for delivery by summer.
With this new deal, Jan Vandooren, Marketing and Sales Manager of Sunwin Bus says that purchasing new city buses in China is considered more and more as an investment rather than an initial cost. He concludes that, "Uptime, life time cost and passenger comfort are already becoming the decisive factors in the purchase procedure of the Shanghainese operators.
This new purchase agreement between Volvo and Shanghai, underscores the excellent quality and reputation of Volvo Motors and its subsidiaries. Volvo's products, including these Buses, are manufactured using the best and latest technologies. Volvo Cars, long considered as a luxurious and excellent quality brand, continues to enjoy a growing global market share.
Superior aftersales support was one of the reasons cited by Shanghai Bus operators why they chose Volvo. Maintenance and repair is considerably less of a hassle with Volvo. This can also be attributed to the abundance of top-quality parts in the market today. Any Volvo car owner can have easy access to the best Volvo Parts for maintenance and repair. One of the easiest and fastest ways to purchase Volvo Auto Parts is through online auto parts stores. There are dozens of online auto parts stores offering the best Volvo Parts. For instance, Auto Parts Train, a leading online auto parts store based in California, USA, has over a million auto parts in their warehouse. You can shop for Volvo parts at their secure and easy to use website at http://www.partstrain.com/ShopByVehicle/VOLVO.