Last weekend, Scania launched its first-ever locally-assembled model called the Scania Touring. Scania’s one of the world’s leading providers of sustainable transport solutions, and it has set its sights on being the number one supplier of coach busses in the country.
The brand has been around for over a century, and it has the engineering experience to prove it. Now, a new generation of Scania Touring busses will be available for operators on Philippine soil with a wide array of energy-efficient powertrains, offering the latest technology in everything from safety systems to reduced emissions and noise levels.
Scania also promises excellent uptime and fuel economy for its new range of busses. Operators and passengers can also expect high levels of comfort from this new generation plus luggage capacity as well.
“And to offer local bus operators utmost flexibility and more savings, Scania is unveiling the first Scania Touring with a Philippine-made body to be handed over to Bicol Isarog Tranport System, Inc. This provides operators, like Bicol Isarog, a myriad of options in terms of body configurations and choice of materials not to mention parts are readily available. But you can expect the same level of engineering excellence and riding comfort as with all Scania buses,”
The local body assembly is handled by Scania Philippines’ partner, Del Monte Motor Workks, Inc. (DMMW) which began its operation in 2019. Scania international conducted a thorough inspection of the locally-manufactured body and certified that they adhered to the Body Building Guidelines of Scania. Each step of the body-building process was well-documented and forwarded to Scania’s Headquarters in Sweden for monitoring. The design was then patented for Scania, and only Scania Touring models get this exclusive and locally-built design.
Apart from the origins of the new model, the body built around the chassis can also accommodate a lot of interior design options for customers from the audio-visual setup, to interior lighting, all the way to seating options. Regular bus seats are available from the dealer as well as deluxe bus seats. The Touring bus can also be outfitted with top-of-the-line lazy boy recliners for more affluent passengers, and customers can also choose to fit a bathroom inside the bus which is especially useful for long-haul trips. Scania Touring can be configured as a bus, mobile conference room, or mobile hospital.
“Scania has been a part of our wish list being one of the best European brands known for its high quality, durability and safety features that is why we grabbed the opportunity to be the first to own the Scania Touring with a locally made body and we have 13 more buses for delivery next year. Another important factor is their very good after-sales support courtesy of the 24/7 workshop and guarantee of parts availability,”
Scania also flexes its Fleet Management System (FMS) for the truck, which allows operators more control over their fleet while being able to monitor operational fuel economy and productivity. The system can also detect efficient and safe driving aside from pertinent vehicle date and fleet position. The system can even detect fuel theft, increased idling, hard braking, hard acceleration, and even mechanical and electrical errors. The system can also inform Scania’s technicians if ever there is a breakdown on the road.
Apart from that, there are a ton more features as standard such as an electronic stability program, speed limiter, traction control, economy and standard driving modes, hill hold, auxiliary brake (retarder), and other optional functions which include adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, blind spot warning, an electropneumatic parking brake, vulnerable road user collision warning and underrun protection.
