GLOBAL BUS TRANSMISSION MARKET

China, Europe and India are the top 3 world` biggest bus transmission markets. These three markets cumulatively account for 0.8-1 Million buses per annum.

China bus market has 25 players in total, accounting for ~0.5 Million units per annum

EUROPE BUS TRANSMISSION MARKET

During the first half of 2021, Europe’s commercial vehicle registrations went up by 36.9% to 1 million units, reflecting the contribution of the big gains recorded between March and May 2021. Most of the region’s markets posted double-digit percentage gains, including the four largest ones: Italy (+53.7%), Spain (+38.4%), France (+36.4%) and Germany (+21.7%).

The registrations of new buses and coaches in the European Union were 9.4% higher than in the same month last year. Germany (+24.0%), Italy (+23.2%) and Spain (+18.1%) all recorded significant gains last month, while France was the only major market to post a decline (-14.1%).

In Europe

Transmissions fitted on Mercedes Benz buses are

•  Transmission Voith Diwa.6, 4-speed, automatic transmission
•  Mercedes-Benz GO 190
•  Mercedes-Benz GO 210
•  7G-Tronic PLUS, 7-gear, automatic

Transmissions fitted on Volvo buses are

•  ZF Ecolife 6AP1003 B 6 speed automatic gearbox with neutral bus stopping. 
•  12 speed I-shift automatic transmission
•  Volvo AT2412E I-Shift fully automated 12 speed 
•  Volvo AT2412F I-Shift fully automated 12 speed gearbox with integral retarder

Transmission fitted on MAN buses are

•  MAN TipMatic, automated 12-speed manual gearbox with EasyStart/6-speedautomatic gearbox

•  ZF EcoLife Step3,6-speed automatic / Voith DIWA6,4-speed automatic

Transmissions fitted on Scania buses are

•  ZF 6AP1200B Ecolife 6 Speed fully automatic gearbox with integral retarder
• GR875R 8 speed gearbox with fully automated

BUS TRANSMISSION MARKET SEGMENTATION

INDIA BUS TRANSMISSION MARKET

In India, TATABuses are provided with (280mm to 330mm Dia ) Single plate dry frictionwith a clutch booster.

The gearbox provided by Ashok Leyland on all their Buses is 5 Speed Synchromeshgearboxes with 330mm Hydraulic clutch actuation with booster

The gearbox provided by Eicher on all their Buses is ET 35S5, 5F + 1R and ET40S6, 6F+1R with 330mm Hydraulic clutch actuation with booster 

The Gearbox provided by the BharatBenz is MO36S6 (6F + 1R) with 330mm dia Single plateclutch.

CHINA BUS TRANSMISSION MARKET

From January to June 2021, China sold 16,754 units of large- and medium-sized new energy buses, down by 5.99% year on year. The top ten players and their market share are Yutong (3,744 units; 22.35%), BYD (2,220 units; 13.25%), CRRC Electric (1,418 units; 8.46%), Skywell (1,178 units; 7.03%), Zhongtong (1,105 units; 6.6%), King Long (1,037 units; 6.19%), Yinlong (979 units; 5.84%), Higer (859 units; 5.13%), Asiastar (532 units; 3.18%) and Ankai (500 units; 2.98%).

China sold 3,135 units of large- and medium-sized new energy buses (measuring 7-meters in length and above) in June 2021 alone. 

• Higer buses employ transmission from a wide variety of in-house manufactured as well as externally sourced transmission. It sources transmission from ZF, Voith,Allison, Scania and Qijang.
• King Long buses employ in-house manufactured as well as AMT and Automatic transmission sourced from ZF and Voith
• Yutong buses have either 6 speed Manual or Automatic transmission

RECENT TRENDS IN THE BUS TRANSMISSION MARKET

• Allison Transmission’s eGen Flex electric hybrid solution will be put into revenue service at New York City Transit (NYCT) buses . 

• ZF recently completed its software upgrades to first-generation EcoLife transmission in 740 New York City Transit buses, that results in a significant improve fuel economy (6-14%), and thus resulting in an annual savings of approximately $1.6 million or 720,000 gallons of fuel.

•  Konin a public transport operator in Polandadded a hydrogen bus to its fleet. Secured by Solaris Bus & Coach, the main advantages of a hydrogen bus include the short refilling time, the wide driving range as well as the zero-emission, noise-free and city resident-friendly operation of the vehicle. The hydrogen will be stored in gaseous form, in roof-stacked tanks. The commissioned bus will also feature a Solaris High Power battery.

• Auckland (NZ) Transport begins a 2-year trial of a 3-axle hydrogen fuel cell bus. The trial will assess operational performance and how operating costs compare to diesel and electric buses of similar configurations. The bus carries 43 seated and 31 standing adults.The bus is built by Global Bus Ventures in Christchurch and will be operated with Howick and Eastern Buses by Transdev for the initial two-year trial. The bus is fitted with a Ballard fuel cell and ZF drive system. It has a range of some 400 km (249 miles).

• Researchers from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) are working on a city bus platoon for Munich.  The buses in the city will be replaced by electrically powered vehicles in the long term. As electrified towing buses require enormous amounts of electric energy to move the trailers and motorizing the trailers would be neither cost nor energy efficient. Therefore, a purely electronic and information-based coupling would be used in platooning which will allow connecting complete buses instead of trailers.

• Mercedes-Benz will be supplying 129 Citaro G hybrid 18m articulated buses to Belgium’s TEC Group. The Citaro G is a 48V mild hybrid with a support phase which   reduces fuel consumption of articulated buses by up to 8.5%. A 14 kW, 220 N·m electric motor is positioned between the engine and the automatic transmission. When the bus accelerates again, the electric motor uses the stored energy to assist the diesel or gas engine with extra torque. The electric motor also serves as a starter-alternator in the current S-Class.

• BYD introduces a battery-electric Type D school bus. With length options of 35, 38, and 40 feet, BYD’s Type D battery-electric school bus can seat up to 84 and can be equipped with an ADA liftgate. The bus has a range of up to 155 miles on a single charge.With safety as a top priority it also includes features such as electronic stability control to aid handling, a collision avoidance system, and a 360-degree monitoring system to detect pedestrians and cyclists when the bus is operating at slow speeds  . At the heart of the BYD Type D is a lithium iron phosphate battery and a powertrain that features high-speed, dual in-wheel traction motors which delivers outstanding efficiency.

COVID IMPACT ON BUS TRANSMISSION MARKET

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic is expediting a change and the widespread expectation is that it will lead to severe contraction in the bus market and those under pressure would be all automakers selling less or close a lakh passenger vehicles-a-year ,expectations for growth rates in the automotive sector weakens , the challenges posed by the global covid-19 pandemic is enabling a transformation towards sustainable emission-free mobility with the main aspects of electrification and digitization at a full speed while at the same time, it also becomes  necessary to keep an eye on risks from political conflicts concerning the free movement of goods. 

Companies had to revise and, in some cases, redefine the main points of their strategy. The companies in consultation with their Supervisory Board and the Board of Management are taking timely measures to safeguard liquidity, reduce costs and restructure their Groups, without losing their focus on the technological fields of the future.

As we enter into the era of slowdown post the coronavirus pandemic, most global producers would be looking at changing strategy by adopting a faster and leaner approach to fast-altering marketing conditions. But the challenge is arduous for those with a limited bandwidth. 

 New vehicle launches have dried in the COVID times and all the scheduled product launches have hit a wall.

Covid-19 impacted sales of every brand in FY 2020/21, For 2021 brands significantly expanded electrification across their vehicle portfolio. The older ones are now being replaced, the models now have electrified options, including plug-in hybrids and mild-hybrids.

To address pandemic many companies have taken some innovative steps such asBharat Benz has rolled out 'BSafe' features, which include hands-free doors, sanitisers and temperature sensors, for its BharatBenz bus fleet to prevent the spread of the coronavirus infection. 

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Among the top 3 bus markets worldwide, in India almost all Bus manufacturers produce Manual transmission in-house. In China, there is a strong dependency on ZF for transmission sourcing by many OEMs, Voith is also popular. In Europe, ZF and Voith are dominant, supplying to almost all popular Bus platforms.

• Tata’s retails across all other regions declined significantly year on-year, including Overseas (-26.8%), Europe (-26.0%), the UK (-22.2%) and North America (-14.3%), as strict social distancing measures were enforced through the first quarter and subsequently reintroduced in many markets through the third and fourth quarters.

• Tata records a revenue of £19.7 billion in FY 2020/21, down 14.2% from £23.0 billion in the prior year. Sales (excluding the China joint venture) declined across all key regions, down 27.0% year-on-year to 347,632 units, except in China where wholesales grew 23.1% year-on-year. The reduction in revenue was much lower than the decline in wholesales, reflecting the strong favourable sales mix and higher average revenue per vehicle during the year.

• Benz Group’s total unit sales of passenger cars and commercial vehicles decreased by 15%. The revenue recorded was €154.3 billion, with a reduction of 11%Adjusted EBIT, reflecting the underlying business, and the company's net profit improved to €4.0 billion.

•  Yutong BusCo Ltd records its revenues increase by 29% to RMB3.63B. The company’s net loss decreased by 23% to RMB 110.7M. Since its revenues reflected an increase in demand for the Company's products and services. Yutong’s lower net loss reflected Research & Development Expenses decreased by 17% to RMB304.6M(expense).

• Volvo’s Net sales decreased by 22% to SEK 338 billion (432 in 2019). 

COMPANY PROFILES

•  TATA MOTORS 
• Ashok Leyland 
• EICHER 
• BharatBenz 
• Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co. Ltd. -
• Shenlong Bus -  
•  Mercedes benz 
•  Volvo 
• MAN 
•  Scania 
• Voith
• ZF
• Allison

THIS REPORT WILL ANSWER FOLLOWING QUESTIONS

• Market Size and Forecast, by geography($M)
• Opportunities and risks in Bus Transmission Market 
• Important technology trends and regulatory changes
• 5 key predictions for next 5 years inBus Transmission Market
• Competitive landscape and market share of leading vendors
• OE- Supplier alignment in Global Bus Transmission System Market
• New product development in Bus Transmission System Marke