An indigenous vehicle marketing company, Kojo Motors Limited, has hinted of plans to assemble a range of Yutong buses locally, in line with the National Automotive Industrial Development Plan (NAIDP) of the Federal Government.
With technical support from Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co. of China, Kojo Motors Limited targets over 1800 units of the buses in the next three years, with a plan to grow the number subsequently.
Three out of the array of unique models – ZK6729D, ZK6858H9 and ZK6122H9 – were showcased at the just concluded Lagos Motor fair where they were described as outstanding buses that guarantee return on investment for buyers.
For in instance, the ZK6729D model is most suited for commute within the city in the league of shuttle buses like the Toyota Coaster. There’s also the ZK6729DG model with a city bus interior, which makes it ideal for BRT or mass transit operations. It was learnt that Muyi Line and some other private companies are already using the vehicles for airport shuttle, staff bus and so on.
Described by Kojo Motors as an ideal coach, ZK6858H9 is comfortable and spacious with luggage compartment, all of which set new standards for inter-city operations and make the vehicle suitable for a journey of up to 600 kilometres; like from Lagos to Accra or Lagos to other parts of the country. Visitors at the fair were informed that operators like GUO Transport, EFEX Executive and De Modern Bus had deployed the model to the routes.
The ZK6122H9 model is a coach designed for travel up to 1,000km, and equipped with a toilet, offers a new level of convenience for passengers. African Eagle, E. Ekeson Bros Transport, GUO Transport, Eddyson Transport, LandStar, were cited as some operators using the vehicle on the far north and east routes.
The Yutong project, according to Executive Director, Kojo Motors Limited, Chinedu Oguegbu, would address the growing transport needs of the country.
Presently operated as a semi-knocked-down (SKD) assembly plant, Kojo Motors Limited plans to migrate to the completely-knocked-down (CKD) level in the next three to five years under a good economic condition.
With meeting the local domestic market needs as priority in the short to medium plan, the Yutong bus assembler hopes to extend its market frontiers to other regions outside Nigeria, and make the country an export hub.
Oguegbu assured that the brand would offer competitive pricing, better value and specifications compared to European models. Kojo Motors also offers financing in addition to service and spare parts. He also stated that offices and service facilities in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Benin City and Awka are well equipped and staffed to provide efficient after-sales support for the Yutong buses.
Yutong is a large-scale global enterprise mainly specialised in bus business, but also covers areas of construction machinery, special vehicles, auto parts and components, real estate and other investment business.
As the No.1 bus brand in China, Yutong boasts powerful R&D capability and has the largest bus production base in the world and enjoying huge popularity both at home and abroad.
In 2016, it sold 70,988 units buses, ranking the first place in China for 14 consecutive years. In addition, it has been the sales champion in the global bus market for several years.