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Forget those stuffy, shabby passenger-jammed buses that belch thick smoke while rolling along local streets. Luxury buses, boasting air-conditioning, wider and softer seats, music, television and even a coffee-serving kitchen, may soon be commonplace on roads around China.
At least, this was the impression left on many visitors attending the third session of Busworld Asia, a regional exhibition for the bus and coach industry, which opened here yesterday.
Staged at the Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre, the annual event attracted nearly 150 exhibitors, including a majority of domestic bus and coach manufacturers, many of which have formed alliances with global counterparts to tap into the appealing domestic market.
What awaits manufacturers, including Shanghai Sunwin, Guangzhou Isuzu, Guilin Daewoo, Xiamen Golden Dragon and Sichuan Toyota, is a potentially explosive market demand for well-equipped buses with a human touch, especially environmentally friendly and comfortable large and mid-sized buses.
Given the country's efforts to upgrade the national highway and expressway infrastructure to meet increasing domestic demand for road transport - the buses will certainly be in demand.
Annual sales of large and mid-sized buses are set to rise from 68,000 units sold last year to 92,000 units in 2006, and the figure will hopefully hit 115,000 units in 2011, experts said.
(China Daily March 19, 2003)
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