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| The Baw Sasuka comes with a fold-down monitor to show passengers ''in-flight movies''. |
But Beijing Automobile Works (BAW) in South Africa has a plan to
win not just the wallets of the owners, but the eyes of the commuters as well.
The group this week announced that its new 16-seater minibus will
be sold for R275 990, which includes a standard touchscreen GPS and DVD player
as well as a fold-down TV screen mounted on the forward ceiling.
The BAW Sasuka also comes with factory-fitted air-conditioning in
the front and forward ceiling areas, remote central unlocking, integrated
tracking hardware equipment and cellular telephone Bluetooth for the driver.
Also standard are alloy wheels, wider white-wall tyres, an additional 110 mm of
space in the passenger seating area and “high back” two-tone UV resistant PVC
seating with an eight-degree rear tilt capability.
The Sasuka will be assembled in Springs on the East Rand.
Included in the Sasuka’s price is a two-year/200 000 km service
plan. Service intervals are every 10 000 km and will be undertaken via a
one-hour express service concept. The warranty period covers two years or 100
000 km.
The midibus has already proven itself in China, where it is sold as
the 009. It is a fully-equipped high-end model with a 2,7 litre petrol engine
that delivers 110 kW of power at 5 200 r/min and 235 Nm of torque at 4 000
r/min.
John Jessup, BAW SA’s head of sales, marketing and after-sales,
said the BAW Sasuka would be priced 15% below the Toyota Sesfikile, including
the GPS and fold-down television screen.
To service the Sasuka midibus, Jessup said, BAW will be testing the
concept of mobile service units to get to the operators at 40 or 50
multi-franchise dealers in South Africa and neighbouring countries.
The BAW plant at Springs holds parts worth some R40 million. “Daily
deliveries are being made to our dealers. Parts pricing targets are very clear
and will be well below competitor levels based on the Kinsey basket,” Jessup
said.
He added that BAW would facilitate ongoing maintenance of their
vehicles. “Poor maintenance is undoubtedly the single biggest potential factor
in causing vehicle accidents, even if the vehicle is relatively new,” Jessup
said.
Apart from dynamic safety features such as ABS brakes with EBD and
retractable seat belts, BAW is “determined to improve safety levels
significantly via this regular professional maintenance”.
To reduce the lenders’ risk for the banks, Jessup added, “BAW also
guarantee buy-backs. Used Sasukas will be refurbished in our factory and
redistributed via our dealers. We have already secured end-user financing
contracts at fair and reasonable interest rates with ABSA and WesBank.”
BAW SA is 51% owned by Beijing Automobile Industry Holding Company
in China. The balance of the shares are split between the IDC and China Africa
Motors, which distributed BAW taxi vehicles in southern Africa before BAW set up
shop in Springs.
