Astana Motors will produce Golden Dragon buses

As early as the end of March, assembly of Golden Dragon passenger buses will be started in Kazakhstan.

A distributor agreement has been recently signed between Hyundai Trans Auto, an auto assembly plant, which is part of Astana Motors KMC and Golden Dragon Bus Company (Xiamen Golden Dragon Bus Co., LTD), a Chinese manufacturer of buses. From now on, Hyundai Trans Auto is an official distributor that produces and sells Golden Dragon buses in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Golden Dragon Bus Company is one of the leading bus manufacturers in China. The company owns three manufacturing plants with an annual output of 40,000 small, medium, and large buses. Golden Dragon buses are used in 66 countries, including the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, Singapore, Israel, Thailand, and Russia.

One of the major competitive advantages of these buses is the use of a monocoque technology (a whole-body frame) and a method of cathode electro-coating in production of all models of Golden Dragon buses. The company applies this complex bodywork process based on successive dipping of a bus body into tanks with different chemicals. The result of this process is a continuous and hard insulating film on a whole body of a bus. Thanks to these technologies, the weight of a bus becomes less that reduces fuel consumption and environmental pollution, increases corrosion resistance and useful lifetime of buses.

The model range of buses includes 240 models with their configurations from 8.5 m to 18 m. Buses have three types of engines: diesel, gas, and electric. There are low-floor urban, tourist, and small suburban buses. According to the technical requirements of EAEC, emission class of buses complies with Euro-5 standard.

At the end of March, assembly of buses will be started in the auto plant in Kazakhstan. Complex technological operations as welding and painting will be started later. Astana Motors will offer various service options to customers and bus depots. First, it is a mobile service when technical specialists of the company will provide services outside working hours in the bus depots and on the road in case of a breakdown during a trip. Second, when purchasing a bus, a customer will be able to obtain the entire range of original spare parts required for maintenance service up to 100,000 kilometers. Third, technical specialists from Astana Motors will train the personnel of the bus depots to repair/ provide maintenance service of Golden Dragon buses and certify them. Besides, the company opens a warehouse of spare parts for Golden Dragon buses in Kazakhstan.

It is worth noting that a wide range of buses will satisfy the needs of passenger transportation companies in Kazakhstan. Astana Motors intends to expand a dealership network. As a distributor, it has the right to appoint dealers, service agents, and consultants. The price of Golden Dragon buses produced in Kazakhstan will start from 31,900,000 tenge. It is a very competitive price in the Kazakhstani auto market. Golden Dragon buses are much cheaper in comparison with similar buses in Kazakhstan. The price difference is about 10%. It is possible to purchase buses through leasing or a special program of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan.

Astana Motors KMC has concluded contracts for delivery of buses to Kokshetau and Almaty. Negotiations are under way in Shymkent, Petropavlovsk, and Astana.