A little about Chinese Higer and Yutong buses in Russia

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Presentation of the plant

Yutong Group is an industrial association specializing in the production of buses, construction machinery, components and spare parts for automobiles. The company's headquarters is located in China in Henan province in the city of Zhengzhou.

The Yutong Bus enterprise occupies an area of ​​1.12 million m² in the Zhengzhou Yutong Industrial Park and is the parent enterprise of the concern. The daily production volume is 285 buses.

The production is well equipped with modern equipment for the production of medium and large buses. Since 1997, the company's shares have been listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The products of the Chinese manufacturer are DQS and ISO/TS16949:2002 certified.

Yutong's achievements

The company has developed a comprehensive line of buses ranging from 5 to 25 meters in length. Our products successfully cover different market segments: tourism, urban and intercity transportation. Today it is the leader of the Chinese bus industry.

Yutong vehicles are exported to many countries: Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong, Russia, and the brand is gradually entering the European market. Buses are supplied to Norway, France, Macedonia, Israel, and in 2012 the equipment was introduced to the American market.

The company invests heavily in research and development. So, in 2008, a research institute was created in China as a scientific base for conducting research in the field of bus construction and ensuring stable quality of equipment.

Interior comfort and equipment

The Zhong Tong designers approached the issue of interior decoration more responsibly than the Yutong company. Inside the bus there is:

• additional heating;
• floor lighting;
• fabric upholstery.

The floors of the Zhong Tong interior are covered with an anti-slip coating that resembles the structure of wood. In this regard, Yutong has a clear disadvantage. After all, its interior is covered with ordinary linoleum. The driver's seats for both models are identical - pneumatic, adjustable with fabric covering and 3-point seat belts.

Tinted windows help hide what is happening in the Zhong Tong salon. Yutong's side windows are completely transparent. Another important point is the presence of chairs on skids. This convenience is available to passengers of the Zhong Tong 6127 bus. The model developers also took care of traffic safety by installing a tachograph in the cabin. In addition to traditional day and night lighting, additional lighting systems are installed at the exits from the Zhong Tong salon.

A pleasant surprise for Zhong Tong passengers will also be a spacious luggage compartment, the volume of which is 9.5 square meters compared to 6 square meters in Yutong buses. The GLONASS navigation system is installed in the cabin of both models. True, Zhong Tong also has an on-board computer.

From the history of the brand

ZHENGZHOU YUTONG GROUP CO., LTD is a group of enterprises engaged in the production and sale of buses, equipment and automotive components. The company traces its history back to the early 80s, when the first front-end loader was produced at the Zhengzhou Bus Works plant.

In 1993, the reorganization resulted in the renaming of the plant to Zhengzhou Yutong Bus Co., Ltd. Since October 1998, the company commissioned new production, office and warehouse buildings, and YUTONG soon became the largest automotive manufacturing center in Asia.

ISO 9001 and ISO/TS 16949:2002 certificates were obtained between 1999 and 2002. In 2002, an agreement was signed to create a joint venture with the German concern MAN. The newly formed enterprise was aimed at producing chassis and assembling buses in the city of Zhenzhou.

By 2003, the plant's production capacity allowed it to produce 15 thousand units of equipment, which amounted to 20% of the total volume of the Chinese domestic market. In 2004, the figure was increased to 25%.

In July 2011, construction began on a production plant for the production of electric and hybrid buses, with a capacity of 10 thousand buses per year. And in 2012, the production complex began operation, its capacity was 80 thousand buses per year.

Yutong is committed to introducing alternative fuel vehicles. Today, YUTONG has the largest modernized base in Asian countries, and is included in the list of 200 Chinese companies, while being a leader among manufacturers of front loaders, special equipment and buses.

Yutong ZK 6128 H. Liner for 10 million

Certification of the Yutong ZK 6128 H tourist bus is planned in Russia in December 2022. A model, externally similar to the Yutong T122 that turned out to be too expensive, is planned to be released on our market at a price below 10 million rubles in the basic configuration. Let's figure out what's valuable in the new product.

Mikhail Ozherelev
Yutong ZK 6128 H Overall length: 12.3 m Sales start: 2020 Price: 10 million rubles.

A high line of tinted windows, a huge curved windshield, a stylish continuation of narrow headlights in the shape of albatross wings, plus an abundance of chrome elements in the front mask - the large burgundy Yutong ZK 6128 H tourist airliner became the cherry on the cake of the bus section of the Comtrans'2019 exhibition. And it was represented by Yutong, the official dealer in Russia.

At the driver's workplace, by today's standards, everything is standard.
Those who follow the Yutong model range may have noticed the almost complete external similarity of the new model with the luxury bus Yutong T122, which was imported to Russia as an experiment back in 2022 (for details, see “Vehicle Fleet” No. 7/2017). It was important for the importer to find out the opinion of potential buyers. Carriers appreciated the quality of the interior, design and rich equipment, but did not risk voting with rubles. The high price due to expensive European components (the model was designed for Western consumers) did not allow the Yutong T122 to find its place in the developing Russian market.

Cameras placed around the perimeter of the bus display images on the dashboard.

equipped with individual adjustment of power and direction of air flow.
However, the story, as we see, is by no means over. As you know, the Chinese automobile industry quickly masters everything new and promising. Engineers at the Zhengzhou Yutong Group plant listened to the wishes of Russian carriers and proposed a completely logical solution - to combine the chassis of the well-known Yutong ZK 6122 H9 tourist bus with the Yutong T122 body. Just such a copy was at our disposal on the eve of certification tests.

A sleeping compartment for a second crew member is a popular option.

The sleeping compartment has space for a mobile phone.
The two-axle bus with an overall length of 12.3 m is designed to transport 51 tourists (there are two more options for interior layout - for 53 and 32 seats). If we talk in detail about the passenger compartment, it is practically not inferior to the above-mentioned Yutong T122 in terms of comfort. Except that the floor in the central aisle and on the podiums is covered with a shag carpet rather than laminate. The rest is already well known: chairs with comfortable headrests have a large backrest angle and a function of moving to the central aisle, service units are equipped with individual settings for the power and direction of the air flow, and the brightness of the directional reading lamps is steplessly adjusted. The overhead bins for carry-on luggage have a “floating” design, without intermediate partitions, and their strength is designed to be used as a handrail while moving around the cabin. The list of interior equipment is impressive: Wi-Fi router, media system with two 19‑inch monitors, spacious refrigerator for drinks, cooler, toilet. The interior is heated by convection, radiators are located along the sides. But the heating of the steps and the creation of a thermal curtain effect at the entrance are provided by air heaters with forced airflow. The Spheros heater is included in the cooling system circuit. Its task is to maintain the antifreeze temperature within the required limits and compensate for the insufficient heat transfer of the diesel engine. The climate system includes a Kelin air conditioner.

The refrigerator doubles as a table in the first row.

At the driver's workplace, by today's standards, everything is standard: a Grammer chair with a massage function, a dashboard with a central display, symmetrical ovals of the speedometer and tachometer with chrome trim, a multifunction steering wheel and a miniature gearbox joystick located in the front console - exactly there, where the “one hundred twenty-two” had a storage niche. The engine is started with the ignition key, and not with a start-stop button, like the original model. Apparently they decided to save money on this. The same cannot be said about active safety systems; there is a full arsenal of them here - there is even a solution for monitoring the sudden appearance of pedestrians. And this is in the basic configuration. There are also four cameras installed around the perimeter of the bus, displaying images on a large dashboard screen.

Yutong ZK 6128 H has taken a big step towards passenger comfort.

The sleeping compartment for the second crew member is worthy of special attention - it is also quite comfortable there: there is an autonomous ventilation system, air conditioning and even a place for a mobile phone. By the way, if the equipment list includes a sleeping bag and a toilet, the volume of the luggage compartment under the floor is 10.5 m3, and in the version without a toilet it is an even more impressive 12.5 m3, which is a claim for a record among classmates.

All points for filling process fluids and daily monitoring are as accessible as possible.
The power unit is a 6-cylinder in-line diesel Cummins ISL 360 (360 hp, 1500 Nm, Euro-5), familiar from the Yutong ZK 6122 H9 model, located in the rear overhang. This engine is made in China, but Cummins unconditionally recognizes engines from its Asian branch as its own everywhere and services them at stations around the world. Access to the power unit (including the cooling radiator and SCR catalyst) is facilitated thanks to the presence of side hatches. All filling points for process fluids and daily monitoring are as accessible as possible, and the containers for washer fluid and AdBlue neutralizing solution have sufficient capacity (a funnel is required to fill the washer reservoir). Service interval - 15,000 km. Yutong in the Russian version have full-fledged engine crankcase protection, which is simply not available in buses for the domestic Chinese market.

If you have a sleeping bag and a toilet, the luggage compartment volume is 10.5 m3.
The engine is paired with a 6-speed Fast manual transmission. The rear axle and front axle are also made in China. Knorr-Bremse disc brakes front and rear (optional) with WABCO ABS anti-lock system. The rear suspension is pneumatic. A Telma retarder is used as an auxiliary braking system. It is also important that spare parts for this chassis are already available in Russia; service center technicians and drivers know how to work with it - this allows us to reduce repair time and equipment downtime.

The new bus has good acceleration dynamics, responsive brakes and minimal noise levels. In general, the car is quite manageable in driving, despite the elongated longitudinal dimensions. But the front dependent suspension offered for all occasions does not allow us to evaluate the tourist airliner to the maximum. In terms of ride smoothness, our new friend is inferior to its Chinese counterparts with independent front suspension (for example, Golden Dragon XML 6139JR, Higer KLQ 6122).

Separately, it should be said about the price of the bus - according to the manufacturer, the bus will go for certification in December of this year and after certification, the price of the Yutong ZK 6128 H in the basic configuration is expected to reach 10 million rubles! Of course, this model will not be the same workhorse as the Yutong ZK 6122 H; its purpose is to provide a higher level of passenger service.

In general, the Chinese auto industry is again making it clear that it intends to bring the product to a new, higher level of consumer properties. However, full-fledged competition with European companies is still hampered by the weak level of service support in the regions. This is exactly what the importing company is working on now.

By the way, the Yutong brand has been present in our country since 2004: thousands of buses have been sold in St. Petersburg and throughout Russia. The brand has occupied almost all niches - from small-class buses (at one time the brand was nicknamed “the king of minibuses”) to tourist buses.

• A cozy interior with comfortable seats, a well-organized driver's workplace, and a spacious luggage compartment.

• Difficult access to the washer reservoir, lack of independent suspension in the list of options.

Technical characteristics of Yutong ZK 6128 H

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