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British shine in Belgium
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• British PSV manufacturers and bodybuilders were well to the fore in the midi-bus and coach sectors at last week's Coach and Bus '87 show at Kortrijk in Belgium.
As European passenger transport operators gear up for liberalisation in their own operating regimes, many are watching the miniand midi-bus boom in Britain with great interest, and are keen to see whether it will be practical in their own countries.
After the initial post-D-day boom, British companies are keen to increase sales through the rest of Europe.
MCW has signed an agreement with Bova which will add the MetroRider to its range. Bova will sell the MetroRider through its subsidiaries in Germany and France as well as the Netherlands and Belgium. The first 8.4-metre MetroRider coach built in left-hand drive form was shown on MCW's stand: the coach made its debut at Frankfurt.
Optare, which has also appointed a Dutch dealer, showed the first left-hand-drive City Pacer built on a Volkswagen LT55 chassis. The bus features a two-plus-one seating arrangement with extra room for standees. It is being supplied to Dutch operator NZH. A right-hand-drive Optare StarRider based on the MercedesBenz 811 chassis was also shown by dealer CAB.
Fareham-based Robin Hood has expanded its production significantly since deregulation was first mooted in Britain, and has been particularly successful with its City Nippy body on the Iveco Ford 19.10 Turbo Daily chassis. The company has set its sights in Europe and displayed on the Iveco stand a left-hand-drive City Nippy. Robin Hood has also appointed a Benelux dealer which exhibited a UK specification welfare City Nippy on its own stand.
British manufacturers, however, will still have to work hard for a share of any European market and even in this sector the home coachbuilders are quickly developing new products. In addition to the impressive LAG Atlantic range from Belgium, competition from Japan is coming with the introduction of the Hino RB rear-engined minibus and coach which is being marketed in Belgium by the local Kassbbhrer dealer. The RB is offered as either a 19-seat coach, or a 20-seat bus. It is powered by a four-cylinder turbetharged Hino engine developing 103kW (140hp) and driving through a five-speed manual gearbox.
Existing luxury coaches are lo evolving, rather than new models being introduced. Jonkheere introduced a facelifted VIP executive coach with a new grille and rear-end styling. The Van Hool and Sinit ranges also featured minor changes and the Benelux integral coach makers Bova and LAG both introduced Daf ATi engines to their ranges.
British body builder Flaxtons, aiming for a slice of the Dutch market, showed a Daf 3000SB-based Paramount coach, built to Dutch specification.
One of the biggest surprises was provided by the British Ensign company which is to sell Yugoslavian FAP Famos coaches in West Europe and the UK. It showed a Yugoslavian-built Sands dualpurpose bus and a version of the 0303 Mercedes-Benz.
FAP Famos coaches and buses are built under licence from Mercedes-Benz designs. Their intoduction by Ensign in West Europe "for significantly less" than the Mercedes-Benz original could have repercussions for sales of the Germanmade equivelents in some markets, including the UK. Ensign is to launch its Yugoslavian range in Britain at Birmingham this weekend at the Bus and Coach Council Show.
Ensign is also the UK dealer for Dutch coachbuilder Berkhof, which has added a new body style to its range. Its Excellence 2000 will be top of the range, offered on a number of chassis including Daf, Volvo and Scania.
Belgium manufacturer Jonckheere has joined the ranks of the chassis makers with a range of rear-engined, airsprung chassis for inter-urban and urban bus designs. It has also developed an integral city bus, the TriCity, for the Belgian market. The Joncithhere chassis offers a choice of MAN, Daf or Mercedes-Benz drivelines, and Voith or ZE automatic or ZF manual transmissions. Its 046 and 041 chassis also feature Leyland Busdesigned front suspension.