Stories of Golden Dragon Buses in Taiwan
2013-08-15
At the beginning of 2013, I, as a technical engineer of Golden Dragon, was dispatched to Taiwan, to which I was familiar and stranger.
At the beginning of 2013, I, as a technical engineer of Golden Dragon, was dispatched to Taiwan, to which I was familiar and stranger.
The sea breeze and accent of Hokkien were what I was familiar to and the special standards and interesting operation mode of transport industry were what I was strange to. Some days later, I made some local friends and blended in the live here.
Buses from Mainland China Serve Taiwan
On June 14th, the 10th WBDD (World Blood Donor Day), six Golden Dragon low-floor city buses were used to serve the blood donors in Gaoxiong City, where Golden Dragon buses debuted. After the activity, these buses would replace the old buses here and our job was to provide driving training and technical support for local drivers.
Along with us was the technician Xiao from Pingtung Transport Company which purchased these buses. He said: “Change is happening. Taiwan and Mainland China are both WTO members and more buses from the Mainland will enter into Taiwan market.”
“We are unable to produce chassis and engines in Taiwan, unlike Golden Dragon with years’ cooperation and technical exchange with famous overseas bus manufacturers. However, the standards we adhere to in Taiwan are not inferior to EU ones. Getting certified in such a short time proves the capability of Golden Dragon.”
“I think introducing these buses shows the trust of our company to Golden Dragon”, uttered Xiao with a smile on his face, “we are happy to see more China buses used in Taiwan.”
Reading the Market
A few years ago, some bus manufacturers exported buses to Taiwan and failed due to inadequate preparation. In order to reassure the customers, Golden Dragon made fully prepared.
Before cooperating with Golden Dragon, Taiwan customers made detailed comparison among the products of mainstream bus manufacturers. Nowadays, importing complete buses from the Mainland is still forbidden and Golden Dragon planned to export in the form of CKD after the detailed survey about the standards and regulations of Taiwan.
Besides, we realized the local climate of high temperature and humidity made a demanding requirement to the anti-corrosion of the chassis. That was what Golden Dragon’s Cathode Electrophoresis was good at.
In order to understand the tourism culture of Taiwan, we joined a tour group traveling from east to west for Central Cross-Island Highway. The comfort of Taiwan high-end bus lived up to world-level. VIP seat arrangement and excellent AV equipment relieved the passengers from the tension on mountain road.
After a few months, we shipped our high-end buses with high-power A/C and luxury seats to Taiwan. Golden Dragon XML6875 tourism coach became the first certified model. To solve the problems of maintenance and parts supply, we establish our own parts warehouse in Taiwan.
Twenty days in Taiwan filled me with affection of compatriots. From the food packaging to high standards to buses, I sensed Taiwanese pursuit to quality and details.
