Scania Bus and Coach recently welcomed more than 50 customers to its Campbellfield HQ to view and sample the new 500 hp Scania Touring three-axle coach, as well as to inspect the revised two-axle variant, and the updated ScaniaHiger A30 school/charter bus.

Prior to getting to grips with the new products, the guests were given a guided tour of Scania’s national parts warehouse located nearby, where the full extent of the spare parts stockholding was apparent.

Guests were greeted by Scania Australia Managing Director Manfred Streit as well as Aftersales Director Stefan Weber, and National Parts Manager Matt Pol. All three emphasised the significant investment in spare parts holdings located at the 10,000 m2 facility, in addition to the new Scania regional spare parts warehouse established this year in Hope Valley, Western Australia.

Scania is fixated on the concept of delivering uptime to its customers, so they can deliver their services to their customers, Manfred told the guests at the start of the day.

“We know you need to take care of your customers. And so, we need to take care of you. This new warehouse helps us to do this. Our aim is to create uptime, deliver first class service and of course, present you with excellent bus and coach products,” he said.

“This Decco Drive warehouse serves all of our East Coast dealers and our own capital city branches with parts,” Stepfan Weber said.

“In Decco Drive we store more than 16,000 lines of parts, across our 10,000 m2 facility, and supply parts for all of our product ranges, from heavy trucks to buses to industrial engines to marine engines.

“We have a dedicated team here dealing with bus parts. The majority of our parts supply comes from our global supply centre in Belgium. For parts for our Higer-built vehicles, we have a local buying agreement with the manufacturer, and this allows us to get some parts from China directly,” Stefan said.

Following the warehouse tour, the guests transferred to Scania’s newly refurbished nearby head office to review the products on display, starring the new 500 hp threeaxle Touring coaches.

The first to hit the road will be operated by long-time customer, Firefly, whose 1990sstyle livery echoes that of the first Scania coach the company acquired last century, while the second three-axle Touring is liveried for Australia Wide Coaches, now owned and operated by Langley’s of Dubbo.   

A Scania-Higer A30 in the colours of Driver Bus Lines was also on display along with two cleanskin coaches, another Scania Higer A30, and a two-axle Touring, one of which has been purchased by Hanley’s Passenger Service.

Both the new Tourings and the A30 feature a two-piece windscreen as standard. All the vehicles are fitted with Scania’s new smart dash which includes a large touch screen for controlling comfort and second tier systems, as well as a fully digital instrument cluster in front of the driver.

After a quick lunch the guests were invited aboard the Firefly Touring for a short test ride with Jamie Atkinson, Scania National Sales and Contracts Manager for Victoria, Tasmania and WA behind the wheel.

Despite the typically changeable and wintry Melbourne weather, there were broad smiles in evidence at the end of the drive, and at the end of the day, with the Scania bus and coach team happy to have shown off and explained the key benefits of their new products, the first of which are now being delivered.