Yutong Bus Company Limited, manufacturers of one of the world’s leading buses and coaches, has dispatched a team of engineers to investigate the cause(s) of road crashes involving its buses in Ghana.
Several Yutong buses have crashed on Ghanaian roads since their introduction into the country in 2007 and officials of the company are worried at the development.
According to Kevin Pahn, General Manager in charge of North-West Africa Division, the coaches are manufactured with modern technology based on internationally accepted standards.
He stated that initial investigations point to lack of proper maintenance on the part of drivers, coupled with the poor condition of most of the roads on which the buses operated.
Mr. Pahn made the statement last week when he interacted with a team of journalists from Ghana who visited the company’s manufacturing plants in Zhengzhou, in the Henan Province of China.
He said management of the company in collaboration with J.A Plant Pool, agents of Yutong in Ghana, has constituted a team that will soon begin the investigations.
The team will collate data on all Yutong buses sold in Ghana and report on their conditions which will inform the necessary action to be taken.
Mr. Pahn however, indicated that their biggest worry is the fact that most drivers and bus owners prefer to purchase used spare parts also known as second-hand spare parts, from open markets which may not be genuine. This he noted, also affects the efficiency of the buses, making them deteriorate faster.
He therefore advised owners and drivers to always purchase genuine spare parts from J.A. Plant Pool, where they can be assured of quality products at affordable prices.
“You Can’t compare the genuine parts with used parts,” Mr. Pahn stressed.
Yutong sold 57,000 coaches across the globe in 2013, valued at $4 billion. 80% of the buses were sold in China while 18-20% were sold across other continents. About 6,000 buses were sold overseas including Ghana through its local agent, J.A Plant Pool.
Its subsidiary, Yutong Heavy Industries Limited also located in Zhengzhou City specialises in the manufacturing of wide range of heavy duty equipment including mining, construction and waste management vehicles.
It has over the past 50-years earned reputation for developing over 120 different types of products that range from earthmoving machines, environmental protection equipment and project, piling machinery special-purpose vehicles as well as hosting machinery.
It currently has a staff strength of 3,800 including 550 engineering enterprise technicians.
