Busworld 2019 award winners announced

Ten Busworld Awards were awarded in the bus and coach category at Busworld 2019 in Brussels. The Grand Award Bus went to the hydrogen-powered Van Hool Exqui.City 18, and the Grand Award Coach went to the Volvo 9900. The jury ranked the VDL Futura FHD2-135 and the Van Hool EX11H second and third. 

During this edition, the members of the jury observed some general trends in the world of bus and coach. Yutong and, by extension, all Chinese manufacturers, were said to have made significant progress and are already meeting European standards in many areas.

An observation from the jury that highlighted was guide facilities. The Tour guide media was said to have been greatly improved through the the availability and user-friendliness of connection such as multimedia, WiFi, laptop connection and mobile devices with screens and sound that were said to be improving significantly.

A third observation was that cameras are replacing mirrors, which is considered beneficial for manoeuvring and for safety reasons. Finally, the vehicles with an alternative power-train (electric, gas, fuel cell) were all said to be of a very similar quality and level.

Grand Award Bus: Van Hool Exqui.City 18 FC Design Pau

The Van Hool Exqui.City 18 FC trambus destined for the southern French city of Pau received the Busworld Grand Award Bus. Thanks to its 300-kilometer capacity of operational autonomy, which surpasses that of other vehicles, the hydrogen fuel cell bus has also been awarded the Ecology label award.

The jury praised the safety features, the completely separated driver’s desk with centrally located controls, the excellent visibility for the driver and the multitude of cameras covering the entire external area of the bus.

The Comfort Bus Award: Mercedes-Benz eCITARO

The Mercedes-Benz eCITARO was praised for its highly ergonomic approach to the driver’s desk, the space, the accessibility of everything, the display and the equipment.

The Bus Design Award: The Yutong U12 

The Yutong U12 received this award tanks to its European level of design, as well as its high score with regard to the aesthetic balance of the interior and its overall appearance on exterior.

The Safety Bus Award: The MAN Lion’s City 12G 

The MAN Lion’s City 12G was praised due to its extensive passive safety features for the driver, the acoustic blind spot warning, the mirrors displaying the entire front of the bus and the overall high ratings for other safety aspects for the driver and passengers in general.

Grand Award Coach: Volvo 9900

With its new 9900, Volvo won through good scores on design, maintenance, ride quality, comfort and acceleration. Designed and built in Poland, the 9900 stands above the competition, according to the jury.  

The safety of the vehicle was also mentioned in the judging. In this category, the difference with the other vehicles was said to be quite substantial, which yields Volvo the Safety Award once again. The jury was impressed by the passive and active safety automated fire extinguishing system, black box system or on board computer, the driver passive safety (energy absorption zone) and the passenger safety (light entrance and exit).

The Comfort Coach Award: Setra S531 DT and Van Hool EX11

The Setra was said to perform well on driver comfort, tour guide, media and passenger environment and comfort. As far as the Tour guide media is concerned, everything is available which was allegedly not the case for all vehicles.

The Van Hool EX11 performs well on vehicle ergonomics, driver ergonomics, touring guide comfort (space, extra micro) and media and passenger comfort. In addition, the audio system, the space between seats, the armrest between seats, leg space and the VIP set up also appealed to the jury.

The Design Coach Award: YUTONG T13

The jury liked both the design of the exterior and the interior. The finishing and placement of the interior, equipment and components were very accurate.

The Ecology Coach Award: YUTONG ICe12

Yutong uses many recyclable materials in the interior (less plastic and more metals, for example). It was also the only electric vehicle in the coach category, making it perform much better in terms of emissions than the other vehicles.

Busworld Innovation Awards

The Innovation Label by Busworld Awards reward innovative products and services at Busworld Europe. It guides the visitors that are interested in seeing new and innovative developments through the exhibition. The winners of the Busworld Innovation Label 2019 are:

Non-vehicles

• AKASOL – AKASystem AKM CYC – The Ultra High Energy Module
• ZF Friedrichshafen AG – CeTrax
• MEKRA Lang – Digital VisionSystem
• GEA Bock GmbH – GEA Bock HR40 StarCO2mpressor
• DAFO Vehicle Fire Protection – Lilon Fire
• Stoneridge | Orlaco – MirrorEye
• Volvo Bus Corporation – Volvo Electric Driveline

Vehicles

• King Long Motor Group – Apolong
• Ebusco – Ebusco 3.0