Bus body builder, Caio Induscar Indústria de Carrocerias Ltda has launched a new generation of Apache VIP city bus model.

The city of Ribeirão Preto (SP) has started testing the BYD D9W - 20 410 low-floor chassis fitted with a Caio Millenium body.

Rochdale-based bus manufacturer, Mellor, has expanded its electric bus range with the introduction of two new full-electric, zero-emissions buses.

The Iskandar Regional Development Authority of Malaysia in March said its Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project would likely cost MYR2.5bn (USD600m) and is expected to become operational in 2023.

Sales of large buses and coaches (>7.5t gvw) in the fiscal year 2020-21 (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021) decreased sharply by 81.70% to 7,322 units from 40,016 units registered in the previous same fiscal year (2019-20).

Sales of light-duty passenger vehicles (7.5 tons and below) fell by 73.6% in the fiscal year 2020-21 (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021) to 12,078 from 45,814 units in the previous fiscal year and from 52,170 units two years ago. Exports also fell dramatically by 61.8% to 1,641 units in 2021. Production experienced a decrease in output of 65.8% to 15,475 year-on-year from 45,291, and from over 55,000 in 2018-19.

India - Sales of light-duty passenger vehicles (7.5 tons and below) in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2020-21 (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021) fell by 54.3% to 4,652 units from 10,170 in the same quarter of FY2019-20.  Exports fell by 37.2%  to 733 (1,168) and production fell sharply by 50.2% to 5,688 (11,429).

Domestic sales of medium and large buses and coaches (7.5t gvw and above) fell by 56.1% in the fourth quarter of financial year 2020-21 (January to March) to register just 4,744 units, down from 10,810 units in Q4/2019-20. Total bus and coach production also fell sharply during the fourth quarter by 54% to just shy of 5,000 units (10,763). Total exports decreased by 38.7% to 1,211 vehicles from 1,974 units in Q4/2019-20.

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH) had issued draft notification amendments to mandate installation of fire detection and alarm systems in all new school and intercity buses throughout the vehicle, which now includes the passenger compartment in addition to the engine compartment.

ARBOC Specialty Vehicles LLC (Arboc), a mobility accessible midi-bus builder and subsidiary of NFI Group Inc based in Middlebury, Indiana, USA has launched a battery-electric low-floor bus called the Equess CHARGE.

Specialist vehicle design and manufacturing group, Woodall Nicholson Holdings Ltd (WNHL) of Bolton, UK, which builds light- and medium-duty commercial vehicles under various brand names (which include Mellor Bus, Trekka Bus and VCS, see below) has added a fourth division to its group portfolio.

The market for commercial vehicles over 2 tons gvw in East Asia’s seven main markets (excluding China) fell by just 2.6% to 385,943 units in the fourth quarter of 2020 after declining by close to 13% to 396,046 units in the same period of 2019, according to data compiled by www.AsiaMotorBusiness.com from numerous industry sources.