(^40) ABC July 2019 busnews.com.au
SNAP CHAT INTERVIEW
Michael May
and Mehmet
Karal.
market. We currently steer
our operations there through
Mercedes-Benz New Zealand
and our strong dealer network.
ABC: What new products
from Daimler/MB are on the
cards in the near future?
Is there anything you can
mention at this stage or
at least allude to? Will the
Citaro – either in Euro6
diesel, hybrid, fully electric
guise – ever make it here on
mass, if width regulations
change? Or just in select
numbers?
MK: Our OC500 LE city and
OC500 RF intercity chassis
will still be the in the centre of
our product strategy. We are
especially proud of our Euro6
engine range, which has best-
in-class fuel efficiency and sets
the industry benchmark. The
performance and TCO [total
cost of ownership] of Euro 6
Mercedes-Benz chassis, blows
the minds of even those who are
avid fans of other European or
Australian bus builders.
We are going to complement
this range with our brand new
Brazilian chassis portfolio, the
2-axle O500 RS and 3-axle O500
RSD chassis. These chassis will
have all the safety and comfort
systems such as ABS [anti-lock
braking system], EBS [electronic
braking system], ESP [electronic
stability program] and lane
departure assist, as well as a
brand new rear axle optimised
for bus applications. And good
news is they will also be priced
competitively, targeting the
school/charter segment.
Moreover, we are closely
working with selected
bodybuilders on exclusive
product solutions. I cannot reveal
the details at this stage, but you
will probably know more after
the Melbourne Bus Expo in
October.
Regarding Citaro, as you know
the product does not fulfil the
width requirements of Australia
and requires PBS [Performance-
Based Standards] approvals. We
have trialled the bus successfully
in Brisbane and planning a
second trial now in Sydney.
Citaro is the bestselling city
bus in Europe. We sold more
than 50,000 Citaro buses to date
around the world. It comes with
enhanced safety systems, which
are currently not offered by any
other competitor in Australia,
such as sideguard assist and
preventative brake assist.
Most of the new technologies
we develop for buses are initially
introduced on our fully built
integral products, before they
are integrated into the chassis
portfolio.
Electromobility also posed
a new challenge to the bus
industry: how to balance
autonomy (range) vs load
(passenger capacity/batteries)
and comfort (HVAC) on an
electric bus. You can only
optimise all three parameters in
a complete bus solution, where
each component is designed to
work together in a seamless way,
with a chassis-body combination.
I am not saying it is impossible,
but this is much more difficult
to realise.
Last, but not least, an integral
bus gives us the flexibility on
lead times thanks to our massive
production capacity back in
Germany.
Now back to your question,
Daimler Buses offers the most
extensive product portfolio
in the industry. We will keep
offering our extensive chassis
portfolio to our customers. In the
long run, we want to extend our
offering in Australia and New
Zealand also with Citaro Hybrid
and eCitaro.
ABC: What are your views
on alternative fuels? We
still have diesel buses
used in this country;
How quickly should more
operators be adopting Euro
6, or is there still time for
them to not be here?
MK: We strongly recommend our
customers to opt for our Euro
6 engine range when buying a
Mercedes-Benz. They are not
only good for the environment
but also for the bottom lines of
our customers.
I will be on the conservative
side: you will probably break
even the premium you have
paid for a Euro 6 Mercedes-Benz
chassis vis-à-vis a Euro5 one, at
the fourth or fifth year mark with
the improved fuel efficiency and
extended maintenance intervals.
We trialled and closely
monitored our Euro 6 chassis
almost everywhere in Australia
under different operational
conditions. TCO improvements
were mind-blowing. Euro 6
makes sense today.
It is also important to note
that Daimler AG has invested
more than 20 billion Euros
in the CASE (Connected,
Autonomous, Shared & Services
and Electric) strategy. The target
is to electrify the complete
portfolio; cars, vans, trucks and
buses, by 2022. We strongly
believe electric vehicles are
the future. Specifically on the
bus applications, we are also
planning to use hydrogen
as a range extender in order
to electrify all bus routes
in a typical city or intercity
application.
ABC: What trials of
alternative fuelled buses
is Mercedes-Benz/Daimler
conducting around the
world that are worth noting?
Any trials happening in
We will keep offering our extensive
chassis portfolio to our customers.
grace
(Grace)
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