Earlier this month, Busworld took its show to North America where it presented a trade exhibition show and an insightful conference
Busworld may not venture outside of Europe too often, but this time it’s doing so with good reason. In early February, Busworld travelled across to cold Detroit and organised its very first North American event from February 4 to 7.
Alongside partner ABA (the American Bus Association), it welcomed operators in Huntington Palace.
Busworld has now given ABC the chance to look at the entire event and what it featured.
When it comes to displays for the trade show exhibitors, it was wide and varied. ABC Companies, the distributor of Van Hool in the USA and Canada, presented its CX line of electric coaches that can offer around 200 miles per charge. ABC Companies also showcased transformations on the Ford Transit platform through a Sunset Ford Transit Van EV.
Coach builder MCI put on show its popular J line for tourist services. Alongside its clean diesel products, it also presented its electric J4500 Charge coach.
Temsa put out its TS45 with a Cummins X12 engine. The vehicle was completely redesigned throughout the COVID period, with Temsa’s new service network also highlighted.
Mercedes-Benz officially presented its Tourrider at Busworld. The 45ft coach comes in both a business and premium version to wow the crowd.
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Canadian manufacturer Prevost, which belongs to Volvo, turns 100 years old next year and has launched a luxury coach to celebrate. With a Volvo D13 engine onboard, the Prevost model also features Volvo’s Connect telematics service.
Moving on, Ultra Coach continued to show off its luxury vehicle conversion capabilities. The manufacturer based in Georgia, USA, presented a proposal beyond traditional truck-based ‘cutaway’ buses. Its luxury model on display has a capacity for 56 passengers and is developed on the Freightliner platform.
Finally, Swedish leading fire protection company Dafo presented solutions for electric and hydrogen buses. Other companies like Heliox, Hendrickson, Adastec, Bridgestone, Bitzer, Zenobe, Kiel and Q-Straint also presented at Busworld North America.
When it came to the conference sessions, it was all about energy transition, as the adoption of zero-emissions vehicles was labelled as slow.
When it came to the US market situation, zero-emission bus sales was discussed as they steadily increase in both the USA and Canada.
Lastly, digitalisation and mobility were also major talking points as autonomous buses continue to gain traction in the northern hemisphere.