Busworld India 2018 sees 115 exhibitors

The 8th edition of the Busworld India, the comprehensive international B2B exhibition for the Bus and Coach Industry, started to an enthusiastic response today at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC). The three-day exhibition has over 115 exhibitors including ­­­international participants from Germany, Belgium, Turkey, China, Belarus, Korea and Austria showcasing their latest products and services. 

The exhibition was inaugurated by Dr G. Parmeshwara, deputy chief minister of Karnataka.  Speaking on the Occasion Dr Parmeshwara said "I am very happy that you are organising Busworld in Bangalore. Our successive governments have been encouraging industry here including transport industry. Everybody wants to come to Bangalore to live. We have problems but we are looking for solutions locally. Over 70 lakh vehicles run on Bangalore roads everyday and our roads were not built to take so much of traffic load. We require efficient public transport system including Buses. There is a proposal with our government to replace all buses with electric buses in about five-year time."

Addressing the Bus operator associations present he said, "I know you have challenges in tax structures. You will have to as a delegation meet the Transport Minister or the Finance Minister and we shall definitely look into restructuring the tax structure."

Tata Motors, Force Motors, MG Automotive, Oelectra BYD, MRF, Bridgestone, JTAC, Valeo Motherson and Subros, are some of the major Indian companies participating in the three-day exhibition.

On the first day of the event, the major highlights included unveiling and launch of three luxury coaches by MG Automotives (picture above). These included the Glider Seater with 43 seats; Glider Z sleeper with 30-berths based on the Bharat-Benz chassis and the DreamZ a luxury sleeper based on the Mercedes multi-axle chassis.

Force Motors unveiled India's first 33/41-seater Monocoque bus.

Tata Motors showcased five new public transport vehicles equipped with state-of-the-art technology and advanced safety features.

Prakash Automobiles launched a 45+1-seater bus 'Prakash vega' based on the Ashok Leyland chassis and a 30-berth sleeper coach 'Prakash Kapale' based on the Bharat-Benz chassis.

Olectra Greentech's eBuzz K6 LuXe

Olectra (formerly Goldstone) in collaboration with BYD China launched the electric 11-seater Maxi Cab along with a 39-seater electric bus.

Valeo Motherson launched total HVAC solution for buses along with electric 'Revoeng' air-conditioning unit.

L-R: Ashutosh Khosla, president, Force Motors and Prasan Firodia, managing director, Force Motors unveiling the Traveller Monobus at Busworld 2018.

"We are delighted to be part of the Busworld India 2018 exhibition. At the exhibition Force Motors unveiled the new 33/41 seater Monocoque Buses. With this offering Force Motors continues with its vision of harnessing the latest technology, anticipating the changing requirements and providing the next gen mobility solutions for India," said Prasan Firodoa, managing director, Force Motors.

The exhibition is powered by the Association of State Road Transport Undertakings (ASRTU), the official national body of public transport operators in India and supported by the Bus Operators Confederation of India (BOCI), representing the private bus and coach operators. It is also supported by industry bodies like the International Centre for Automotive Technology (ICAT) and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of BOCI also took place on the first day of the Busworld India 2018 and witnessed participation by BOCI members from across India. Rajan Sharma, managing director, Interads Exhibitions, said: "We are thankful to the government of Karnataka for all the support we received for organising the 8th edition of Busworld in Bangalore. We are also very happy with the response we received from the industry, as this year we see an increase of 40 percent in show size as compared to the last edition and expect similar growth in visitor footfall and business opportunities. The big players of the industry like Tata Motors, Force Motors, MG Automotives, Prakash Automobiles and many others have chosen Busworld 2018 to launch their latest passenger vehicles and innovations. "  

Expressing full faith in this year’s edition of Busworld India, Didier Ramoudt, president of Busworld International, said “The collaboration with BOCI and ASRTU is a major step ahead for Busworld in India, linking Busworld’s international manufacturing and knowledge network to the Indian operators, both the privately owned companies as well as the public transport companies. We are also very proud of hosting Tata Motors for the first time in our show.”