Thaco launches sleeper buses in Philippines

The event was attended by Her Excellency Annika Thunborg, the Ambassador of Sweden to the Philippines; Emmanuel Jupet, Managing Director, Region APAC North, Volvo Buses (part of the Volvo Group); Marivic Del Pilar, President of Victory Liner; and representatives of Thaco Auto.

Victory Liner is a pioneering corporation in bus transportation services in Luzon, Philippines, with 78 years of experience running more than 3,000 buses.

At the event, Victory Liner introduced its newest product, premium sleeper buses, offering "Royal Class" service and bringing a world-class experience to passengers. The product is researched, designed, and manufactured by Thaco Auto.

Thaco's new high-quality sleeper buses for the Philippines market. Photo courtesy of Thaco

Since 2017, Thaco Auto, Autodelta Company (Philippines), and Volvo Buses have coordinated in research and surveys of the Philippine market and developed Volvo chassis bus products according to customer requirements.

Volvo Buses sent a team of experts to Vietnam to guide and train on body development processes and standards for Volvo chassis. After that, Thaco Auto researched, designed, manufactured, assembled, and completed the product.

In May 2019, the company completed two model buses (a passenger bus and a city bus) with a localization rate of 45%, meeting the technology and quality requirements of the Volvo Buses brand.

Products exported to the Philippines were tested and highly appreciated by local passengers. Accordingly, in December 2019, Thaco Auto produced and exported a batch of 15 seat buses to Autodelta to serve the Philippine market.

From the need to use sleeper buses to serve passengers on long journeys, Thaco Auto and Volvo Buses have cooperated to research and develop suitable products for the local infrastructure and traffic conditions.

In August 2023, the company continued to export 10 sleeper buses to the Philippines for Autodelta, becoming one of the pioneers in developing and providing sleeper bus products for this market.

The high-end sleeper bus model is researched and designed by the R&D Center's engineering team according to Volvo's standards, in accordance with customer requirements, and has a localization rate of over 60%.

The vehicle is developed on the Volvo chassis combined with a monocoque body frame structure according to European ECE R66 safety standards, helping to reduce vehicle weight and increase rigidity and stability.

The car model has a modern, sophisticated design, and comfortable interior space.

The pneumatically balanced driver's seat can flexibly adjust in six directions. The bed compartments are designed to accommodate Asian body types and are fully equipped with high-end amenities such as a refrigerator, a phone charger, a lighting system, and personal drawers.

The product is manufactured at the Thaco Bus Plant, which specializes in bus production, and is the largest and most modern in Southeast Asia with modern technology lines towards automation and digital management.

Before leaving the factory, the vehicle is tested on a 2.4-kilometer-long test track, fully simulating all types of real terrain and ensuring strict technical requirements, production processes, and global quality standards for international partners. Photo courtesy of Thaco

Marivic Del Pilar, President of Victory Liner, said that when she first saw and experienced the sleeper bus model with new technology and design during her tour of the Thaco factory, she thought she must bring the high-class product to the Philippine market.

Pilar said this will be one of the first sleeper buses to provide Royal Class service, creating a different value and marking the development and expansion of Victory Liner's high-class transportation service to sleeper buses, meeting travel needs on long journeys.

"The bus brings many different things that we want to give to passengers in the Philippines. Thaco buses really meet our requirements and expectations for creativity and difference, meeting the needs of passengers about a dream trip filled with excitement and comfort," she added.

"Royal Class" buses will make trips from Cubao to Baguio, in addition to routes from Kamias and Quezon City to Cagayan and vice versa.

According to Robbie Torres, General Director of Autodelta, Victory Liner has a great opportunity to implement the idea of upgrading sleeper bus models in a short time when collaborating with Thaco Auto.

As soon as they visited Thaco Chu Lai, Victory Liner's delegation was impressed with the sleeper bus product. The two companies then planned a project to develop this product in the Philippines, and the sleeper buses were designed by the company according to the standards they set.

"I hope that after this launching event, Thaco buses will be known to more and more customers in the Philippines and other countries in Southeast Asia. Volvo Buses, Thaco Auto, and Autodelta will also make an important contribution to the development of the transportation industry, especially buses in the Philippines," Torres said.

This year, Thaco Auto aims to export more than 2,950 vehicles of all types to Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Taiwan.

Nguyen Quang Bao, the Thaco Auto President, said that in order to penetrate different markets, products must be designed and developed to suit the terrain and traffic infrastructure in each country. That is why his company focuses on investing in product research and development.

Currently, the Thaco Auto R&D Center has more than 400 experts and engineers with in-depth knowledge, responsible for design, simulation analysis, sample production, and testing.

Electrostatic dip painting line ED in Thaco Bus Plant. Photo courtesy of Thaco

Through transferring production and design technology from major partners, Thaco Auto has learned and accumulated its own experience and technology.

Following that, they gradually mastered the design, process, production technology, and product development, creating international-quality products that suit the needs of the Vietnamese market and meet standards for export.

In the coming time, Thaco Auto said it will continue to research the market and quality standards of other countries as a basis for product development activities; invest in increasing production capacity to meet export requirements to key markets in the ASEAN region; and, at the same time, expand exports to new, potential markets in Africa, West Asia, South Asia, Australia...