Transporters laud Yutong motors on RoI

….As Kojo Motors premieres 14meter commercial model

A cross section of Nigerian transporters plying the domestic and cross-border routes have expressed satisfaction deploying the Yutong range of commercial passenger buses on the roads, adding that the decision to inject the brand into its operation has tremendously given them good returns on their investment (RoI).

This is the take-away from the historic premiere and public presentation of Yutong range of commercial buses last Thursday by Kojo Motors Limited, sole franchise owners and assemblers of the brand I Nigeria.

This Yutong range of passenger buses are suitable for use by transport operators, corporate fleet operators, schools, churches and other blue chip organisations.     

In a speech that preceded presentation of awards to Kojo customers and world premiere of the Yutong 14 meter long luxury bus that runs on Mercedes-Benz powertrain, in Lagos, Executive Director, Kojo Motors Limited, Chinedu Oguegbu, said the new 14 meters long commercial bus leading other Yutong models on display being launched for the first time is positioned to benchmark any competitor in the segment.

Apart from the 14 meter T139HDH premiere during the day, some of the Yutong range of buses on display includes the 7 meter, 25-seater city bus ZK6729D and DG city bus versions that comes with more space and the ZK6858h, 33 and 35 seats upgraded coaches respectively.  

The advantage of some of the buses is that it fits perfectly into the BRT lanes in some of the megacities like Lagos. The 7 meters bus version is good for schools and church logistics needs and shuttles. There is also the 8 meter bus models which in terms of seating capacity is about half of the 14 meters bus range that carries 33 passengers with luggage compartment. 

Oguegbu revealed that both the 14 meter high capacity luxury passenger bus and other model line-up comes equipped with more re-inforced tonnage to carry more of customers and traders luggages who would want to go back the same day. The bus is also strengthened with double rear axle which are the critical key requirement for the local market considering the back conditions of the road.

According to him, rather than taking a high a capcity bus, operators have the choice of buying the small and medium range buses in case, there are fewer passengers and luggages to carry especially for interstate shorter distances like Benin and Onitsha.

The executive director said that the buses can travel up to 1000 kilometers without any breakdown, even as passenger has the opportunity to travel in safety and comfort with all the facilities for entertainment and powerful airconditioning system. They are very durable and designed for Nigerian roads.

Among the unique selling points of the new Yutong buses is the durability which places the Chinese bus maker as among the top manufacturers in the world that does not compromise in spending huge resources in the development of their buses in terms of craftsmanship and engineering proficiency.

Yutong is no longer competing in the Chinese market; rather, they are at par with other established European brands.

In terms of interpretation of the latest technology such as artificial intelligence into the brand, Oguegbu maintained that, some of buses is equipped with drive recorders some of which have cameras and other additional features which the both the transport companies and the travelling are beginning to embrace as a preferred bus brand of the future.

He expressed the view that what has been hindering an efficient and effective commercial bus transport system where the operations of the company are still done manually with leakages is the lack of adoption of road technology.

The absence of technology he regretted leads to loss of time and revenue, the industry stands to lose and commuters lack the confidence of travelling safely.

Apart from the Yutong Mercedes-Benz powertrain which Kojo Motors does not assemble presently, the company said it is currently assemblying other models in the country and plans to increase the number of buses it is currently assemblying once the demand for the models increases.