At the 13th China Nanjing International Bus & Parts Exhibition (CNIB), though the number of engine exhibitors was less than that in the previous edition, the largest engine supplier--Yuchai showed up as scheduled.

I noticed that Yuchai accentuated gas engines, hybrid engines and heavy-duty engines at the exhibition, exactly tallying with the hotspots in the current bus market.

Yuchai's booth at CNIB

Three segments expectable in 2013

At CNIB, Zhou Chuanwu, deputy general manager of Yuchai Sales Co., Ltd., said, there are three noteworthy points in the bus market this year: 1. There is still huge potential for the school bus market in the coming years; 2. The gas bus market has grown by over 50 percent annually in recent years and will maintain fast growth in the future; 3. The new energy bus market will also boom. Thus, Yuchai has brought its second-generation hybrid system to the exhibition.

Referring to the gas bus market, Zhou said, the production and sales situation was favorable in the first quarter of this year, with over 5,000 gas engines sold. However, affected by the Spring Festival, there was an off season from early February to early March, but the situation improved in late March. "We will sell 30,000 gas engines for buses in 2013," he added.

Yuchai sold over 18,000 gas engines in 2012, enjoying a safe lead in the industry with a market share of 45 percent, according to Zhou.

Extend advantage to develop coach engine market

Amid the slump of the truck market, engine manufacturers such as Weichai, Xichai and Shangchai have vigorously developed the bus matching market in recent years, undoubtedly posing a greater challenge to Yuchai, the traditional bus engine leader.

Yuchai hybrid system

Regarding this, Zhou said frankly, the competition in the bus engine market has been fierce despite a relatively high market share of Yuchai. "Our peers will take unexpected measures and strategies to vie for the market in differential ways, so we are under heavy pressure," Zhou said, adding Yuchai will keep making technical improvement and intensifying technical upgrading to cope with increasingly intense competition, and will make great efforts to develop the coach engine field.

"In recent years, Yuchai's heavy-duty engine sector has been burgeoning in the coach engine field," Zhou said, adding Yuchai was weak in the heavy-duty engine market, but has launched a portfolio of 10.3L YC6MK and 8.3L YC6L for coaches, which has gained market recognition and accomplished Yuchai's fast growth in the coach matching field.

"The portfolio is superior whether in performance or in reliability," Zhou noted, adding, "For instance, 10.3L YC6MK is popular for 12m+ oversize coaches." The engine outperforms competitive products in terms of power performance and ride comfort; is superior over similar products in terms of economy; and outshines its peers in terms of new technology application and integration.

YC6MK heavy-duty engine

YC6MK has been highly recognized by customers and the market for integrating four-valve and high-pressure common-rail technologies, according to sources. "Despite the late launch of our products, we believe Yuchai will enjoy an increasingly large share in the coach matching field."

(Source: Li Xuelei/cvworld.cn)