Hino to launch Poncho bus

New 22 seater to debut at Sydney Bus Show in October

Hino announced this week that it will launch the Poncho at the Bus Show in Sydney on October 5.

The Poncho is a small ultra-low bus for up to 22 passenger which has alread been on sale in Japan for a couple of years.

At the press conference to announce the launch, Hino Australia’s Manager of Product Strategy Daniel Petrovski said that the Poncho is a dedicated bus with wheelchair capability: "The Government is phasing in the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) from now until 2022. The Poncho is already DDA approved and is the perfect vehicle to better suit the needs of wheelchair-bound people," he said.

"The current solution [for our competitors] is a loader which can take 10 to 15 minutes to embark wheelchair passengers on a bus. With the Poncho’s ‘kneeling’ ability, a ramp is all that’s necessary and the people can be loaded and unloaded in seconds."

Mr Petrovski also emphasised that the Poncho is a dedicated bus: "This is not a converted van, the Poncho is designed as a bus; it has a rear-mounted 5.1-litre turbocharged intercooled engine and five-speed fully-automatic transmission, as well as air suspension with kneeling function," he said.

Mr Petrovski said that the Poncho was also a perfect solution for operators with bus routes that don’t take many passengers or for routes that are difficult to negotiate for a full-size bus. "We can see many applications for the Poncho," he said. "The flexible internal layout can be easily configured to suit customer and community needs, and the bus has extra safety features like the safety door with buzzer and the reversing camera with audio function."

Asked how much the bus would cost Mr Petrovski was circumspect but said it would be "around half of what you’d expect to pay for a full-size bus".

The new DDA-compliant Poncho low-floor bus is less than seven metres end-to-end and has a 6.4-metre turning circle.

Asked when we would sales of the Poncho, Hino Motor Sales Australia Chairman and CEO Steve Lotter said: "We will be taking orders from the Sydney Bus Show in October and gauge it from there," he said. "We’re not averse to bringing in the Poncho in volume numbers if the demand is there," Mr Lotter added.

More details on the Hino Poncho bus will be made available at the Sydney Bus Show on October 5, 2016.

Specs:

Overall length: 6990mm

Overall width: 2080mm

Overall height: 3100mm

Wheelbase: 4825mm

Engine: Hino J05E-TS (Euro 5) 5.0-litre direct-injected diesel, turbocharged intercooled, four-cylinder, overhead cam

Transmission: five-Speed automatic with overdrive

Power: 180hp at 2500rpm

Torque: 530Nm at 1500rpm

Hino to launch Poncho bus

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