Sales of Light Buses Account for 75% of Total Bus Sales from Jan. to Jun. 2014

www.chinabuses.org: In the first half of this year, against the backdrop that the sales of both large and medium buses went down remarkably, the overall bus industry still maintained a 7% growth rate, which can be chiefly attributed to the rise in sales of light buses. From Jan. to Jun. this year, the total sales volume of light buses reached 182,000 units, up by 13.15% year on year.

Specifically, the sales of city buses, long-distance buses and travel coaches grew slightly. In sharp contrast, school buses witnessed marked increase in their sales, up by 85.49% year on year. Judging from their power sources, the sales of gasoline-powered vehicles went up faster than that of diesel-powered ones. However, the total sales volumes of the two types of vehicle stood basically at the same level. Thanks to the favorable policies, the new energy and clean energy light buses grew significantly, up by 97.69% year on year.

According to some experts, the impressive market sales of light buses are chiefly due to their multi functionalities, which can either be used as passenger transport or urban logistic vehicles. Moreover, they can be easily remodeled for other special purposes, such as ambulances, cash truck, postal services, travel coaches, etc. 

A closer look at the sales of light buses indicates that the total number of the vehicles sold for urban transport, long-distance travel or touring purposes went up by 0.84%, 6.24% and 9.39%. With the opening of an increasing number of high speed train service routes, the large and medium buses for long distance travel are losing their market in a fast manner. However, the short-distance travel market and inter-city passenger transport have a huge demand for light buses, especially in second and third layer cities in China.