Support

Crucial to the success of the new vehicle is efficient support for it. This is a Pelican Engineering strong point as they have proved with their support for the BMC range, which is reckoned by many to be much better now than it was when the brand was available new in the UK. Commitment to customers has been demonstrated by acquiring the parts stocks that already existed, buying more from BMC and other Turkish original equipment suppliers, and in addition, where necessary, having parts manufactured by UK engineering companies to ensure that a high level of service can be provided for the 700 or so BMCs still in service in the UK. It is an extraordinary level of commitment to a brand that it was only very briefly associated with prior to its demise and demonstrates the Pelican service philosophy, which is to do whatever it takes to make sure the parts are available.

A similar and ultimately greater level of commitment is planned for the Yutong brand. ‘It is a new brand and we will support it all the way,’ said Ken. An initial order for £30,000 of Yutong-specific parts stock has been placed and this has started arriving in Castleford. Fast moving items like filters and seals are already on the shelves. The items carried have been dictated by Yutong based on their experience and the Pelican team has enhanced this based on its own experience of the UK market and climate. Ken said, ‘there is no limit to the amount of parts we will hold if required. We don’t intend to change the way we work: we’re not having a two-tier system. We do try damned hard to retain our customers’.

Garry Knight, Pelican’s Group Parts Manager

Parts Manager, Garry Knight, explained that he thought Pelican’s support offering was, ‘different because it is family owned and run with people in position who care and want to keep customers on the road.’

‘You might sell a first coach but you don’t sell coaches two to ten without back-up. Repeat orders are won on the basis of aftersales support,’ said Garry. ‘We’re here to back Ken and the team up. We’re friendly outgoing people out to look after people. Our BMC availability is now better than it has ever been. We’ve built up the knowledge. We tried to give a service from day one which was difficult, but within six months the stock was already better. When I looked yesterday there were less than ten BMC lines on back order, it’s far less than it once was.’

The £30,000 figure refers to specifically Yutong parts, such as a full range of glass, mirrors, wiper arms and blades, electrical sensors, cam belts, tensioners, drive belts, oil filters, oil seals, UJs, centre bearings, lamps, lenses and air conditioning components. Panels ordered include front and rear bumpers, the front grille and corner panels. The list excludes engines, gearboxes and axles which can be sourced locally and in many instances are already held. Pelican offers an all makes support service for a number of customers in addition to parts and support franchises for the DAF, MAN, Hino, RASCO, Kubota and Deutz brands.

Within the parts operation there are 36 staff. They include two parts representatives, five van sales drivers, six van delivery drivers serving a wide area of the country, with the rest involved in manning the telephones, administration, and handling goods inward in the warehouse.

Stressing that they had the full support of Yutong behind them, Garry said that two Yutong staff, Alvin and Eric, had spent a month in the UK learning about the business. They had trained five of the Pelican team in how to use the on line parts look up catalogue and ordering system. This is chassis number specific rather than working on a broader range basis. ‘It tells you every bolt on the chassis,’ he said, describing the parts catalogue as, ‘as good as anything I’ve seen elsewhere. Unlike other brands, it links the look up facility with current factory availability. You can go directly to the factory price and availability. It is very clever and intelligent.’

Yutong has four major spare parts hubs globally, the nearest one to the UK being that in Dubai. Parts will be shipped to the UK from here rather than China, reducing the time taken and, in off road situations, should not take more than 48 hours to arrive if they are not already held.

Ken added, ‘From what Yutong have told us about their plans for the UK, France Germany and the Netherlands, they anticipate opening a European hub in the not too distant future. It is already something under discussion.’

Round the clock

Pelican’s premises are open around the clock, 362 days a year and the parts department is physically manned from 06.00 until 02.30 so you are welcome to drive in. Should you desperately need anything between 02.30 and 06.00 one of the engineering team will try and help and on Christmas, Boxing or New Year’s Day they are on call. Direct daily parts delivery throughout the north of England is offered and, for orders placed before 18.30, deliveries before 09:00 the following morning can be made anywhere in the country. If a part cannot be got to a customer by 09.00 the following morning, it can be put on a courier with APC who are based literally around the corner. ‘We couldn’t ask for a better service than we get from APC, they’re fabulous,’ said Ken.

In addition to Pelican’s existing premises, there is a commitment to sign up other outlets with a similar ethos as dots on the map. ‘Obviously the number of outlets will be dictated by the number of coaches sold,’ said Ken. ‘We’re looking at eight to ten strategically placed bus and coach service and repair specialists. If necessary we can also plug into the DAF Aid network. Those already identified are one in Stafford, one in Essex, one in Glasgow, one in Elgin and one in Crawley, with discussions underway regarding Southampton and Cardiff outlets.’

‘We’ve already had detailed discussions with a company in Dublin,’ said Ken. ‘The idea is that they will look after sales and back up in Ireland, both north and south.’

At each of these specialist outlets at least two engineers will have been fully trained by Yutong staff at Pelican’s Castleford premises.

As well as these outlets, Pelican is looking to appoint one company to handle all air conditioning matters nationwide. This will be a well known specialist trained to handle Yutong’s Kelin system.

An encouraging aspect of all this parts support is that it doesn’t come at a premium price. I was somewhat surprised when I asked Garry for the cost of a windscreen, wiper arm and wiper blade, to learn that it was only £715.00, £19.10 and £10.10 respectively which compare with the £1,100, £64.00 and £22.00 that Pelican charge for same items on the BMC Karisma. Those differences can make a big difference to the overall cost of ownership.

Impression

John Cropley of Cropley’s Coaches of Fosdyke had taken the coach out a couple of days prior to my visit and was enthusiastic about how it performed. He told me, ‘I’ve one complaint but apart from that it’s a very well thought out vehicle. I think with 51 seats it is too tight on the nearside. Whether it is just that the first one has not been spaced that well, I don’t know. At 12m it makes a nice 49 seater. The seats themselves are lovely, they’re really good seats. They slide out and they recline nearly horizontal, though with it being tight that’s no good to anybody. There was also a vibration in the floor that could be a tight engine mounting or could be just one of those things.’

After taking the wheel he commented, ‘The driving is absolutely superb. It drives beautifully. It just sits on the road and it drives where you want it to go. You could take it to Spain, sit back and relax and just leave it to it. The brakes are very nice. There are a lot of things like lockers for driver’s things, the electrics are all in one locker and the air pipe connections are all handy. There’s a hell of a lot of thought gone into it.’

‘It had a plastic fibre mat running down the aisle which didn’t do it any favours. They’re just dirt traps but with a nice carpet it would really make a difference,’ he thought. ‘The radio/PA does the job and there’s a reversing camera. The doors are good and there are no rattles when you are driving it.’

John thought it was odd that, in order to select reverse, you had to press two buttons. One on the unit and then one on the dash to select reverse. He also wondered whether having the gear control right under the driver’s window wouldn’t make it vulnerable to rain water ingress or spilt coffee.

John’s son Chris had also driven it and he hadn’t liked the steering wheel which is bigger than on most European coaches.

On the whole, John thought that if the back up was as good as he had been told it would be, if you wanted a fairly high specification coach, it was worth a look at. Though the price was very competitive, ‘you get a lot for your money,’ he didn’t think not taking part exchanges was realistic.

Subsequent to our conversation, John rang me back to say that he had signed up for one of the first TC12s, which he had decided on in preference to a B7R Sunsundegui, and was looking forward to taking delivery of it during April. The seat spacing issue he referred to is being addressed on his vehicle.

Future

The Euro5 TC12 is only the first of the huge Yutong range that Pelican will import. The Euro Bus Expo show at the NEC in November will see the launch of the Euro6 engined model which will be equipped with a DAF MX11 eleven-litre engine developing 400bhp (294kW) though this will be downrated to produce torque of 2,000Nm, thereby enabling the continued use of the ZF EcoLife automatic transmission.

It may be that the Euro6 coach will be slightly longer than the Euro5 TC12. It will see the introduction of a rear door option and the possibility of a rear saloon mounted toilet.

Also debuting will be a new nine-metre midicoach model that will be equipped with a 265hp Cummins engine and a ZF automatic transmission.

Beyond that the possibilities are endless given the huge variety of models that Yutong produce.

Positive reaction

Ken has found the initial interest in the brand has been, ‘absolutely incredible’ with operators ringing up and asking if they can come and have a look. This does not happen in the truck market in which the Group is so experienced.

Already two operators have placed orders, one signing up for two coaches, and the first deliveries will be made in April. A number of stock vehicles have been built and will be inspected by Keith before they are shipped to the UK.

The price is certainly one that generates interest. As Ken explained, ‘we’re selling at a net price of £178,500.’ He added, ‘realistically we’d prefer not to part exchange because we don’t want a yard full of expensive coaches that we’re going to lose money on. There’s no point.’

Last word

It is entirely understandable that many operators have preconceptions about what a Chinese coach will be like, based on previous experience and perhaps a little prejudice. Ten years ago they would have been fully justified but the Chinese bus and coach manufacturing industry has come a huge way in that time and the coach I saw is evidence of that. It wasn’t perfect; I still think that the plastics could be improved in places, it is on the heavy side for a 12m coach and there are details that could do with more finesse, but aside from the resolvable issues with the back seat row I have noted, there wasn’t anything that would worry a passenger or stop them booking. There are bound to be teething issues with the first examples as Pelican gets to grips with them and builds the support network but, as they have shown with their efforts on behalf of BMC customers, there is no doubt that the commitment is there to see it through. Yutong itself is also a manufacturer that should inspire confidence that it is around for the long term, and its investment in state of the art corrosion protection means the product should last.

The TC12 challenges existing perceptions of what a Chinese built coach is like: It drives well, it won’t look out of place among European built coaches and the price is very competitive – this could be the start of something big!

Additional information can be found on the Pelican website www.pelican-eng.co.uk
which includes telephone numbers and email addresses for all key staff

By Stuart Jones