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The Chinese manufacturer upgrades its Italian structure with its first branch in Bologna.
Chinese company King Long is attending Bus & Bus Mobility Business and will preview in Verona the new regional bus in its range intended for LPT fleets: named XMQ 6120C, it is a 12.20 specifically for this segment, with double doors, platform for the differently able and flooring 86 centimetres from ground level. It will be joined by two other models specifically for the tourism segment - the XMQ6900 is an 8.90 metre bus with 35 +8 +1 seats and rear engine, large wheels and interior comfort identical to that of the 12 metre models, and the “small” 7.90 metre version named XMQ6800 with rear engine, with 31 + 6 + 1 seats.
Kinglong XMQ6120C
Three new vehicles - yet the range will be expanded in December with two other models - that confirm major interest in the European market and in particular for Italy by the Asian manufacturer, a giant with four factories in China producing around 30 thousand buses per year.“We still have a great deal to learn," said Stefano Del Rosso, President and Managing Director of King Long Italy. "We prefer to work hard to ensure always better quality and after-sales services to our clients rather than focus on communication." Yet, despite the low profile chosen by the Asian manufacturer, facts and figures on the Italian market are interesting. "Well, it"s true and we are very pleased since we only began selling our vehicles in January 2007," Del Rosso smiled, "and as of today we have sold more than 180 vehicles: to be precise, 165 already delivered and 20 on consignment, as well as an order portfolio already totalling 50 units."
Kinglong XMQ6900&6800
Despite the large numbers with which it has to measure up, King Long in short is easily able to customise orders even when - as in the case of Italy - batches are numerically limited.
"We are determined to match up with the needs of clients," the president emphasised, "and this philosophy also guides the development plan for King Long Italy over the next few years, which we defined a couple of days ago: continual and determined search for even better quality and attention to clients through capillary service. Let me mention an example: we offer our clients ACI Global coverage without charge for Europe as a whole, including eastern countries and Turkey."
A few days ago, King Long - which has head offices in Rome - inaugurated its first branch in Bologna. Once again in Emilia Romagna the choice - as in Latium - was to create a partnership with a large and well-known workshop specialising in buses to ensure maintenance and assistance for vehicles. These two structures, Rome as the reference for central-south and Bologna for the north, are already joined by 45 King Long authorised workshops thereby ensuring capillary assistance all over the country.