When coach isn’t coach: New Scania bus aims to raise bar of rural land travel

Most appropriately, I catch up with BJ Mercantile VP Leilani Lim-Tan on the bus. The VP of the company which owns the right to exclusively import, sell, and service all things Scania in the Philippines grins as she spots me boarding the Swedish brand’s new Marcopolo (one word, yes) class bus. Never mind that the unit is presently parked and immobile right in the middle of a trade hall at SMX in the Mall of Asia. Unveiled just heartbeats before, media and guests swarm all over the luxury bus envisioned to be conscripted for provincial operations of bus franchises.

Scania, which celebrates its impressive 125th birthday this year, takes its name after Sweden’s southernmost province where the company was founded in 1891. After first making “engine-propelled carriages” in the late 19th century, the firm went on to become a leading manufacturer of heavy trucks and buses – along with industrial, marine, and power engines. Today, Scania boasts production facilities in Sweden, France, the Netherlands, Argentina, Poland, Brazil, and Russia; and assembly plants in Africa, Asia, and Europe. It operates in some 100 countries where it employs more than 37,500 employees, and has sold more than 1,400,000 trucks and buses. For 2016, BJ Mercantile is on course towards its goal of moving at least 125 trucks in the spirit of its aforementioned anniversary.

“But what has been very important over the years is the research and development we have done – the development of the product together with the customers. Our research and development is in Sweden, but we have been continuously, from the early ‘60s, established production outside of it… and slowly (set up) assembly plants all over the world,” avers Scania Southeast Asia managing director Marie Sjodin Enstrom at the ensuing press conference for the bus launch.

The Marcopolo is made by a Brazilian company of the same name. Founded in 1949 in the city of Caxias do Sul, Marcopolo S.A. produces over half of the bus bodies in Brazil, and exports to more than 60 countries. Lim-Tan tells The STAR that Marcopolo’s expansion to China reflects a determined effort to become a competitor of note in Asia. “Marcopolo and Scania have a very similar culture,” she proffers. “They follow the same standards wherever the factory is.”

Known as a premium player in the industry, Scania’s product line is ostensibly appropriate for more serious businesses with more serious applications. But Lim-Tan wants people to take a closer look at the economics behind the marque. “I’ll be honest with you; what you’re getting here is value for money,” she asserts. In the case of the Marcopolo for instance, the BJ Mercantile executive avers, “There are a lot of little things in the body that probably are not visible to the naked eye, but are important to the bus operators. Take the structure of the body – all the hollow areas are injected with foam. When you do that, then you eliminate the risk for rust. We can claim that the body will last you as long as the chassis.”

The Scania Marcopolo is fitted with extremely comfortable seats and thoughtful power outlets and USB ports for the convenience of today’s generation of mobile gadget-toting commuters, and benefits from “Scania’s legendary comfort safety, and reliability credentials.”

Scania on its website touts the Marcopolo as a “complete coach, a complete solution” that is simple to service and maintain from a single source. “Everything about it is designed to make ordering, owning, and running it as easy as possible, with minimum lead-time and maximum uptime. Safety and comfort have also been optimized for the ultimate passenger experience.”

Lim-Tan explains the added ease of assembling the buses through Marcopolo’s so-called PKD (partially knocked down) system, which weaves in seamlessly with Scania’s own vaunted modular system. Already painted parts are shipped from the factory to various markets. “The body is merely dropped down onto the body,” she says.

Convenience is supplemented by attention to detail and a commitment to quality. The Marcopolo’s streamlined design, along with a lighter body, lowers air resistance in aid of lower fuel consumption. Additionally, the coach body is balanced in terms of load distribution, and electrical components are “protected from moisture with rubber seals for greater reliability.” A galvanized steel body is completely covered in primer and undercoating for exceptional corrosion prevention. Monocoque or single-shell construction means no middle frame between the wheels. “The body takes care of the load,” says Tom Khuiphuis, pre-sales director of Scania Southeast Asia. It results in benefit in terms of weight, and even the ease of access to the luggage compartment. “Since there’s no middle frame, the floor is lower.”

A full complement of active and passive safety features helps protect passengers within. The Marcopolo has an electronic braking system for greater stability in all conditions, plus traction control, and an information cluster that gives bodywork information.

Lim-Tan reported that Scania will be bringing in another line of coaches -- this time geared towards city use as part of a BRT or bus rapid system. “We are really targeting the government (for a) BRT system for that. Once and for all, I want to see the proper implementation of a BRT here in the Philippines.” “Sayang (It’s a waste.), Mainit ang ulo ng mga driver (Drivers get aggravated. When people take the bus, they’re not comfortable.” Scania Southeast Asia sales manager for export markets Mariano Colombo confirmed to The STAR that the units are expected to arrive by end of the year.

Once thing’s for sure: Scania operations in the Philippines are certainly scaling up.