Bonluck Eyeing the Overseas High-end Bus Market
2009-06-16 Source：english.chinabuses.com
Summarize：Not long ago, Bonluck luxury coaches successfully joined the fleet of AWG Chartered Service LLC, Las Vegas, Nevada, along with Setra S417 and Volvo Prevost H3-45.
Bonluck luxury coach in Las V ...
Not long ago, Bonluck luxury coaches successfully joined the fleet of AWG Chartered Service LLC, Las Vegas, Nevada, along with Setra S417 and Volvo Prevost H3-45.
Bonluck luxury coach in Las Vegas
Still yet to build up its reputation in the domestic market, Bonluck has already become a well known brand in some developed countries. How can it manage to achieve this? With this question, our reporter recently visited Bonluck’s headquarter, Jiangxi Kama Business Bus Co., Ltd. and took an interview with the company’s General Manager, SU Liqian.
With a workforce of less than 400 employees, Bonluck boasts nearly 100 bus & coach models in 12 series. During our reporter’s visit, SU Liqian pointed out that Bonluck is still a newcomer in the domestic bus & coach market. For this reason, it is not easy to compete with those well established bus builders in China. Given this, the company has been focusing on exploring the international market since the very beginning. Moreover, in order to avoid price wars, the company has positioned itself on the high-end bus & coach market in the developed countries.
Thanks to its hard efforts, Bonluck’s market penetration in Australia has reached 20%, second only to Volvo. Amid the global financial crisis, the company’s turnover still posted an annual increase of 15% in the first quarter of 2009. According to Su, the excellent performance of Bonluck branded buses & coaches can be chiefly attributed to its competitive price and high performance-price ratio.
When asked how Bonluck managed to make itself known to the local customers in developed countries, Su did not deny that the market access is extremely high in those high-end markets. He elaborated that only to get DOT registration in America would cost about RMB 6 million (about USD 877,414), not to mention setting up branches or maintenance stations. Without a formidable financial strength, Bonluck chose to partner with overseas bus & coach dealers so as to swiftly enhance its presence. Take Australia for example, it signed a five-year contract with BCI, an Australia-based company which is held responsible for certificate application & registration, sales and provision of post-market services. Through this cooperation, win-win results have been achieved for both parties. Moreover, the two parties also share responsibilities together. Su disclosed that the company lost over RMB 10 million (about USD 1.46236 million) last year due to the decline of Australian dollars. However, BCI shouldered up to more than RMB 9 million (USD 1.31615 million) of the total losses.
Apart from cooperating with bus & coach dealers, Bonluck is also actively involved in expanding its overseas markets through partnering with some small-sized overseas builders and large bus & coach operators.
As it chooses to target at the high-end market, Bonluck is quite clear that only quality products can finally claim victory. Thanks again to its partnership with foreign businesses, it soon brings the advanced bus & coach building techniques into its practice. Besides, some foreign experts are now stationed in China to conduct quality control and supervision work so as to ensure that its products of the best quality.
In the end, Su pointed out the company would also consider strengthening its market presence in China after it gains a firmer footing in the international market.
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