"If Yutong is doing this, the market is basically hiss. It's impossible for companies like us to do it!" Li engineer of Jiangxi Shangrao Coach Technology Department said to the Auto Business News reporter on the phone.

Yutong School Bus


On December 27th, 2011, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of the People's Republic of China worked on the Technical Conditions of School Bus Safety, the Strength of School Bus Seating Systems and Their Vehicle Mounts, the Technical Conditions for the Safety of Children's School Buses, and the System of Children's School Bus Seating. The four mandatory national standards for school buses, such as the strength of their vehicle attachments (hereinafter abbreviated as “the draft for comment”), were publicly solicited for public comment.

As soon as the "Consultation Draft" was released, it caused a strong reaction in all bus companies. “Our leaders have already gone to Beijing.” Li engineer said, “Many of the company's bosses are unable to sit and go to Beijing to understand the situation.”

Do you need to pay for the standard?

It is understood that the "Consultation Draft", with reference to the American School Bus Standard and the European Passenger Car Standard, clearly defines the body structure, appearance and loading quality of the school bus. Among them, details such as the "two-cartridge school bus structure" and "at least half the length of the engine should be located before the foremost point of the front windshield" have caused questions from all walks of life. When Li called the reporter, he said the paragraph that began the article.

According to the requirements of the "Consultation Draft" on the structure and appearance of the vehicle, "the school bus should have a two-box structure" and "at least half of the length of the engine should be located before the frontmost point of the front windshield", that is to say, " Between the "long nose", "short nose" and "no nose", this "consultation draft" has given a clear statement.

The reporter then looked at the official website of Yutong Bus, and the ZK6100DA series listed on his school bus product page did indeed appear to meet the appearance criteria in the “Consultation Draft”.

However, the seemingly safer "two-box structure" has encountered doubts in the corporate world.

“Currently, large passenger school buses can basically meet the requirements for the school bus bottom height, but now many companies produce the school bus behind the engine. This type of vehicle obviously does not meet the requirements of the “Consultation Draft.” The engineer told the Auto Business Daily reporter. What makes him feel helpless is that, if after the conclusion of the solicitation work, the existing regulations are followed, Shangrao Bus will face enormous technical difficulties.

"The position of the engine can not be exchanged arbitrarily. This involves the transformation of the chassis and a series of related technologies. These problems can not be solved in one day or two, but also require a lot of investment in capital, and may even cause the procurement department and supplier to take place. contradiction."

It is not only the “nose” problem caused by the engine position, but also the provisions on the front bumper in the “Consultation Draft” that make Li engineers feel unreasonable: According to the “Consultation Draft”, a bumper should be installed in front of the school bus and the bumper should be used. Plates with a thickness of not less than 5.0 mm are stamped and formed. “According to my understanding, there are almost no domestic companies capable of mastering this thickness stamping technology. Basically, they are stamped with steel sheets of 1.2mm to 1.5mm. If they are really used, they can only rely on imports. This is a big cost. Li engineer said.

The most direct impact of the increase in technology costs is the price of school buses. According to the reporter’s understanding, more than half of the “in service” school buses across the country are flat head models. A primary school principal in Shenzhen, who declined to be named, told reporters that at present, Shenzhen can afford kindergartens and schools for school buses. The school buses used are basically “no nose” buses. According to the requirements of the “Consultation Draft”, nearly 3,000 school buses in Shenzhen will not be able to meet the standard. “The school bus is basically the school’s own investment. If the existing school bus can no longer be used, then the purchase again will cause a great burden on the school.” The principal reluctantly told reporters.

On this issue, the reporter also contacted relevant persons of bus companies such as Shaolin Coaches and Jinlong Passenger Buses. Their attitude is exactly the same as that of Li’s engineers: “It is unreasonable.”

The manager of the Shaolin Coach said that according to the current “Contract Draft”, it is not impossible to produce passenger cars that meet the standards, but “difficult”. Luo Kechang, Golden Dragon Bus Brand Management Division, directly expressed this view to reporters: “We support the national regulations, but if we want to meet this standard, we have to pay for it.”

The standard cannot be determined by the appearance of bus companies such as Jinlong, Shaolin, and Shangrao. The school buses manufactured also belong to the range of buses. However, some of the provisions in the “Consultation Draft” are really worried, including the production of wide bodies including Iveco and Chase. Light-off school bus-based business.

“There are some aspects of the “Contribution Draft” that are really aimed at big customers. This is unfair for companies that produce light passengers, and will lead to a single school bus market and technology in the future.” The leader who wishes to disclose his name told the reporter of the Auto Business Daily. The reporters found that many of the data standards in the “Opinion Draft” were formulated according to the big passenger standards. For example, the height of the school bus off the ground should not be less than 700 mm. "Actually, according to the requirements of the "Contract Draft", even the steel form of the school bus is fixed," said the leader.

Gao Mingnuo, technical manager of SAIC Commercial Vehicles Co., Ltd., told the Auto Business Daily that the “Consultation Draft” mentioned that many standards are necessary, such as the requirements for safety standards such as collision and rollover. This is an improvement.

"But specific analysis should also be made on specific issues. Technical terms such as this should not be specific to a particular vehicle model. Moreover, whether or not the school bus is safe is not just a matter of appearance." Senior Manager explained that the MAXUS Chase V80 school bus is an example. , As the first domestic collision test to complete the frontal collision occupant protection, vehicle side impact occupant protection, rear touch, offset touch, corner touch, column touch, rollover, pressure top, etc., and in the various security measures, emissions The standard and other aspects of quality are even stronger than those of American school buses. If only because of the appearance and the body structure is not a bus, it will be eliminated. "It is obviously unfair."

Regarding the above-mentioned cost issue, the senior manager stated: "Safety standards must precede all other costs and become the first consideration for school buses."

Yutong "a single largest"?

During the interview, many bus companies stated to reporters that the formulation of the “Consultation Draft” is “Yusong’s leadership behind it,” and the standard can even be said to be “Ultra-European and American standards”. of.

Although this view could not be verified, the reporter found on the official website of the National Automotive Standardization Technical Committee that the drafting unit for the "Technical Conditions for School Bus Safety" and "Technical Conditions for the Safety of Early Childhood School Buses" was Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. When reporters contacted Zhou Huici, the module supervisor of Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. in accordance with the contact information given on the website, she told the Auto Business Daily that on the day of the issuance of the regulations, the Yutong Bus had already issued an opinion draft to the company for sales. , Design and other departments, the company will collect, discuss and form a final draft of the report submitted to the State Council Legislative Affairs Office.

In the process, Zhou Huici has repeatedly stressed that "the release of the Opinion Draft signifies that China's school bus management laws and regulations are from scratch and a great progress." However, when asked by reporters whether other companies are jointly involved in the development and whether the basis for this standard is Yutong’s own school bus products, Zhou Huici stated that due to his busy work, he could not answer the questions to reporters, and he could communicate to Yutong’s branding department. Ask questions. In fact, from the first day of the “Consultation Draft”, reporters have been trying to contact Wang Rui of the Yutong Brand Propaganda Department, but they have not received a reply before the deadline.

The reporter then contacted Li Weijing, head of the C-NCAP Management Center of the Institute of Standardization of the China Automotive Technology and Research Center. She told the China Automotive News that due to the tight schedule, there was indeed an imperfect and unreasonable "recruitment draft". local. At the same time, there is indeed a case where "the main drafting unit formulates standards based on their own products" in the "Consultation Draft". As for the issues mentioned by reporters, such as “how to distinguish between two boxes” and “what standards do the standards for bumper stamping thickness reference”, Li Weijing evaded the issue, but said that the final school bus technical regulations “do not necessarily follow the current "Consultation draft" to implement".

In response, the reporter also contacted a well-known bus expert in the industry. The expert told the Auto Business Daily that some of the technical indicators of the “Contest Draft” were “too detailed” and were unfair to many bus manufacturers. But what should be more noticed is the introduction of this standard. It is China's "principalization" and "zero tolerance" of school bus safety. "The provisions are mostly mandatory, which was not available before." Indicated. Whether there are "ultra-European and European" suspects, his answer is "In fact, many standards are still more rigid, such as the provisions of the bumper. At the beginning of the American school bus regulations must be bumper because of the height of the body is not enough, if you follow the standard In terms of measurement, the problem of bumpers is somewhat formalized. Of course, the safety standards are not determined by the size of the car body. This is a consensus of many people, and there should not be such an obvious directionality as the “long nose” in the “Opinion Draft”.”

It is reported that the deadline for the solicitation of opinions in the “Consortium Draft” is 8 January. The discussion meeting for the solicitation of the opinions is held around January 11 and 12, and was learned by the reporter before the deadline. According to the news, relevant leaders of a number of passenger car companies, including Shangrao Bus, are currently preparing to go to Beijing in advance and report to the relevant authorities on this issue.