Bus Stop Sales dove into zero-emissions technology in 2022 as it released two new King Long electric products. The vehicle seller is now looking into further evolving its growing bus and coach catalogue.
As an Australian owned and operated dedicated sales organisation, Bus Stop Sales has a wide range of traditional diesel and electric products. Following a busy year that saw the distributor of the King Long and Isuzu range unveil King Long’s latest electric models to the Australian market, Bus Stop now has a significant assortment of zero-emissions vehicles on offer.
“Bus Stop continues to offer the widest range of electric buses and coaches in the market,” Bus Stop Sales dealer principal Pete White told ABC.
The range starts with the two King Long EVolution products. The high-floor, Australian Design Rule (ADR) compliant coach version of the King Long product was released in 2022 ahead of the Bus & Coach Expo. Not long after, the EVolution low floor version arrived to complement the product range. The full urban product is available now and can be used as an electric urban route bus. The 43 seater plus standees chassis has underpinned the EVolution low floor partnership with bodybuilder Volgren to provide a 12.5m electric option for the local market.
“Both of these EVolution products have been custom designed from the ground up for the Australian market,” White says. ‘The components purchased within our range are market leading, containing global quality components with specifications that are much higher than others in the market.
“We’ve used this technology to develop solutions for our customer base across a wide range of applications, including school, low-floor urban buses and mining, to demonstrate full electric and zero-emissions capabilities.”
White says Bus Stop is continuing to focus its energy on the current EVolution low-floor chassis that it is partnering with Volgren bodies. The combined product was displayed at the Expo and will remain as the mainstay of Bus Stop’s cutting edge electric offerings. White says the core product is set to be joined by other quality diesel vehicles.
Alongside the EVolution models in the King Long range is the two diesel options. The 12-13m diesel or fully electric bus can take between 53 and 83 seated passengers. In 2023, the King Long 9m to 10m Midi bus / coach will continue to be a major offering for the local market.
“Further to our electric range, we’re also demonstrating we have a wide array of diesel buses in our mid-sized Midi bus and the 12.5m full size product,” White says. “The latest generation of King Long products are certainly world class and are a real display of the capability and growth that King Long has seen and committed to in order to offer quality products for the Australian market.
“Vehicles have been custom designed based on market feedback. The high quality of components purchased, such as from ZF, VDO, WABCO and Thermo King air-conditioning, means the product is comparable to anything available domestically or imported from China or Europe.”
In addition to the King Long range, Bus Stop will also focus on delivering Isuzu I-Bus models to the Australian industry. This includes the NQR 32-seat I-Bus option, which can work in the school, charter and mining sectors as a mini bus that is fully compliant with New South Wales’s procurement scheme.
“The I-Bus, powered by an Isuzu chassis, is simply brilliant,” White says. “It’s not a complex product, but it is an ideal school bus for city and regional applications. The product is in a class of its own because it can be run on an LR licence.”
What to look forward to in 2023
With the EVolution low and high floor chassis options both being released in 2022, Bus Stop Sales is set to grow its zero-emissions capabilities even further in 2023 and beyond. White says maintaining the partnership with Volgren in supplying a complete electric EVolution low floor model to the Australian market remains critical.
While doing so, Bus Stop will also keep investigating new technology to bring into Australia. White says the industry should watch this space to see what Bus Stop will release in 2023.
“Bus Stop continues to strive to offer the widest bus solutions to the Australian industry while being fully supported by our national team,” White told ABC. “Bus Stop will continue reviewing the product needs of the industry.
“We have a number of products currently in development that shall be released soon.”
To read more about Bus Stop’s product range in 2023, click here