Ankai
| Anhui Ankai Automobile Co., Ltd.
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| legal form | Public Company ( Shenzhen Stock Exchange : 000868) |
| founding | 1997 |
| Seat | Hefei , Anhui Province , People's Republic of China |
| management | WANG, Jiang'an (President) (as of Oct. 2013) |
| Number of employees | 3,000 |
| Branch | vehicle construction |
| Website | http://english.ankai.com |
Anhui Ankai Automobile Co., Ltd. (short: Ankai ) is a Chinese manufacturer of coaches and buses. The company, founded in 1997, is one of the largest manufacturers of large electric buses in the world.
history
The company Anhui Ankai Automobile Co., Ltd. was established on 22 July 1997 and three days later in the Shenzhen Stock Exchange added, the second largest stock exchange in China. With today for the Daimler -owned subsidiary EvoBus belonging bus brand Setra one was licensing agreement for the construction of buses with self-supporting body closed. This made Ankai the first company in Asia to manufacture this type of body, also known as monocoque . Just one year later, in November 1998, the 500th bus was produced.
In 2001 the license agreement with EvoBus was extended for a further ten years. The contract allowed Ankai to produce the SETRA S 315 coach model, winner of the Coach of the Year award . In the same year construction of a new automobile factory began in Hefei . With an initial production capacity of 1,000 vehicles per year, the largest production facility for comfort buses in China was created. Licensed production of the S 315 under the name Ankai Setra HFF6120K35 (S315) began as early as November 2002 . In the years that followed, Ankai played a key role in setting up the nationwide long-distance bus network with modern vehicles that corresponded to western comfort and safety standards. In September 2002, for example, the regular bus service from Inner Mongolia to the capital Beijing with Ankai-Setra buses began. This was also one of the first fast and comfortable long-distance bus routes in China.
At its production site in Hefei, the company equipped its first local transport line in March 2007 with the 18-meter-long Ankai BRT articulated bus (for Bus Rapid Transit ). With the introduction of this modern type of vehicle, which was previously unknown in the province, not only the company but also the city gained nationwide attention and appreciation, which is traditionally important in everyday Chinese culture . Ankai was able to offer the entire product range of modern buses from 8 to 18 meters in length.
The first battery buses manufactured by Ankai in-house were used during the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing . The prestigious accompaniment of the Olympic torch was carried out by Ankai buses. Another 300 new buses were used to transport the athletes and visitors. The company hoped that this would also increase the international awareness of its brand.
In March 2008, an Ankai bus (the first Chinese bus manufacturer) received safety and environmental certification from the Australian transport authorities. This certificate, which largely complies with the demanding requirements of the ECE regulations , meant a decisive step for the further development of the company: It enabled access to the lucrative, but highly regulated European markets in terms of technical requirements. Another milestone in the company's history was the sale of an initial 11 Ankai double-decker buses to Big Bus Company in June 2010. It was the first time that buses from China made it onto the US market; This was preceded by lengthy negotiations with the approval and import authorities. The unit price was 2 million RMB . The buses have been painted with oversized USA flags and are used as tourist buses in Las Vegas and San Francisco. In the same year, double-decker buses were sold on the South African market, which had previously been dominated by British models.
In 2010, Ankai won a coveted tender for the modernization of public transport in Beijing and delivered 250 double-decker buses to the capital (models Ankai HFF6123KZ-2 and HFF6110GS01D).
Ankai has been expanding the production of large electric buses since 2010; 30 Ankai electric buses were delivered to the city of Hefei. This opened the first public bus line in the world that can only be used with pure electric buses. The vehicles used have a range of over 300 kilometers (without operating the air conditioning) or 230 kilometers with the air conditioning running.
At the annual meeting of global growth companies set up by the World Economic Forum in Dalian , Ankai electric buses were used as shuttles for the participants. Since then, the buses have been used on the tourist route from Dalian to Lüshunkou , which is known in China ; This route has a certain national importance in China because of the main destination, the Lüshun prison . At the Expo 2010 in Shanghai , the shuttle traffic was mainly handled by electric buses, including 85 Ankai buses.
In 2010, Ankai expanded its product range to include environmentally friendly natural gas vehicles . 140 new natural gas city buses were delivered to Ürümqi , the capital of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region . Due to the special climatic conditions of this metropolis, located in the extreme northwest of China, adjustments to the heating and air conditioning were necessary. In the following years Ankai delivered 575 natural gas buses with a similar drive train to Pakistan.
On December 28, 2010, the company announced the production of the ten thousandth bus in the 2010 financial year. This made the company the fifth in China with capacities of this magnitude - after its competitors Yutong , King Long , Golden Dragon and Higer Bus .
Ankai achieved the most extensive foreign delivery in 2011 with the sale of 3,000 large school buses to Saudi Arabia. It was also the largest school bus export to date and had a contract value of around 152,000,000 US dollars.
In recent years Ankai has been able to continuously increase bus exports to South America and Asia. In addition to the generally low price, which is far below that of the European competitors, this is also attributed to the price-performance ratio . The delivery of double-decker buses for use in the British capital, London, was of economic, but also of considerable promotional importance. The red double-decker is a symbol of the British capital around the world . It was the first delivery of buses made in China to the UK. A total of 20 vehicles were sold that were first used during the Olympic Games and are now used as tourist buses for city tours . Ankai now also delivers to other European countries such as Hungary and Romania. In Germany, Ankai buses can only be found sporadically.
Around 3,000 people are currently (2012) employed at the Hefei production site; the company premises cover 718,000 m 2 . In 2011, Ankai was the largest bus exporter in China with an export value of around 152 million US dollars. Worldwide it is the largest manufacturer of large electric buses; in China it had a market share of 70 percent in 2011. Overall, the history of the company is similar to that of many Chinese manufacturers: Based on a license agreement with a European manufacturer, Ankai has developed into a manufacturer of independent products within a few years, which are initially sold in China and then the market shares of traditional bus manufacturers (including the former licensor ) can also be significantly reduced abroad.
Economic environment and current development
Due to the very large population (more inhabitants than Europe and North America combined) and the low level of motorization of the population with a simultaneous rapid increase in spatial and social mobility, there is an annual demand for around 400,000 buses in the People's Republic of China (as of 2012), half of them for public transport. The Ankai company currently (2011) has an annual production of 14,200 buses.
Large Chinese cities are polluted with considerable air pollution, which is caused to a considerable extent by the growing motorization. The government has therefore launched extensive modernization campaigns with the aim of increasingly replacing the city buses, which are mainly powered by diesel engines, with new electric buses. Industry experts assume an annual domestic demand of 50,000 to 150,000 vehicles of this type. In addition, in 2009 the government passed an economic plan backed by subsidies, according to which the People's Republic is to become the global market leader for buses with electric drives within a few years. The program is also intended to ensure long-term export security and job creation.
In the capital Beijing alone , the more than 28,000 buses need to be modernized. Ankai, although the world's largest manufacturer of all-electric buses, cannot meet these domestic needs. Against this macroeconomic background, the company started in September 2012 with the construction of a new production line for the production of 150,000 complete drive trains ( powertrain ) for commercial vehicles with alternative drive technology , 6,000 pure electric buses and 12,000 additional drive trains for buses. The investment costs are 1.5 billion CNY (around 188 million €) with an expected annual production value of 8.1 billion CNY (around 1 billion €); production is scheduled to begin at the end of 2013.
The not yet established dealer network stands in the way of marketing in Germany. The investment backlog caused by the indebtedness of the cities and municipalities is also blocking the conversion of local public transport to environmentally friendly vehicles in many places in Germany and reducing the sales opportunities for inexpensive vehicles from China in the medium term. At the 64th IAA 2012 in Hanover in September 2012, the company was represented with the double-decker tourist bus HFF 6110GS-1 and the VIP luxury shuttle HFF 6904-KZ 8.
Current products
Ankai offers a wide range of medium-sized and large coaches (including three-axle vehicles), tourist buses (in classic to luxury versions) and city buses (also over 12 meters in length). The latter are also produced as articulated buses . Comfortable high-decker and nightliners with sleeping cabins are offered for long-haul connections in China . According to Chinese standards, comfort includes seats with a massage function and screens for each traveler in the back of the front seat. In addition, midibuses , club buses of various sizes, luxurious VIP shuttles with on-board cafés and special vehicles (such as buses with blood donation facilities) are manufactured.
The engines are installed as a rear engine or a low-floor engine. Both classic combustion engines (for diesel or natural gas ) as well as hybrid and pure electric drives are optionally available. Batteries for electrical operation are currently (still) a disadvantage, as they are very unwieldy due to their size and weight. According to industry insiders, the company is working to fix this problem over the next several years.
In addition, Ankai supplies chassis and vehicle components such as complete drive trains; it also provides design support and other advice to other Chinese companies.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ankai Coach and Bus Internet presence of Ankai JAC. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
- ↑ Events 2002 ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Internet presence of the manufacturer. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
- ↑ Ankai Luxury Buses Export to America for the first time China buses website of July 6, 2010. Accessed November 1, 2012
- ↑ Ankai Bus HFF6110GS-1 product page from ChinaBuses. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
- ↑ BigBusTours ( Memento from October 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Internet site of the tour operator from July 6, 2010. Accessed on November 1, 2012
- ↑ Ankai Luxury Sightseeing Buses Grab High-end Bus Market in South Africa China buses on October 9, 2010. Accessed November 1, 2012.
- ↑ Ankai Bus Gets Big Deal from Beijing Public Transport China buses, February 25, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
- ↑ Ankai Bus Launches New Electric City Buses China buses, November 30, 2010. Accessed November 1, 2012.
- ↑ Ankai City Buses Deliver to Urumchi China buses, July 28, 2010. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
- ↑ Ankai delivers 100 CNG buses to Pakistan China Automotive Review, May 17, 2012. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
- ↑ The 10,000th Ankai Bus off the Production Line in 2010 China buses 2010. Accessed December 29, on 1 November 2012 found.
- ↑ 3,000 Units of Ankai School Buses Sailing for Saudi Arabia ( Memento of the original from July 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. JAC Motors on September 16, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ↑ Ankai Peru Short film by the Peruvian importer. Uploaded to YouTube on February 6, 2010.
- ↑ a b c The cradle for the Chinese bus Internet presence of RusBusinessNews from April 13, 2011. Accessed on November 17, 2012.
- ↑ Ankai Bus in London ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Manufacturer's press release dated August 8, 2012. Accessed November 1, 2012.
- ↑ Chinese Ankai bus image from October 15, 2012. Retrieved November 10, 2012.
- ↑ On the road to success with environmental protection and sustainability ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. China's website today, June 20, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
- ↑ Moving Ahead; Ankai and EDI's PHEV Bus Development ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Website Efficient Drivetrains, July 6, 2012. Accessed November 4, 2012 Design.
- ↑ Ankai Leads the Development of China's Monocoque Buses China buses, May 25, 2012. Accessed November 1, 2012.
- ↑ a b Ankai expends electrical bus production ( Memento of the original from November 19, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Anhui Province Internet portal dated September 5, 2012. Retrieved November 18, 2012.
- ↑ China vies to be world's leader in electric cars The New York Times April 2, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ↑ Beijing to invest $ 16 billion in subways China Daily, November 10, 2012. Retrieved November 11, 2012.
- ↑ Ankai expends ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Anhui Provincial Government website, September 12, 2012. Accessed November 18, 2012.
- ↑ Reduction of the municipal investment backlog in the medium term not in sight ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Internet presence of the DStGB from October 23, 2012. Accessed on November 17, 2012.
- ↑ Two Ankai Best-selling Models to Debut in the 64th IAA Internet Portal of Anhui Province on August 24, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
- ↑ Product-center ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Manufacturer's website. Retrieved November 17, 2012.
