First right-hand drive model complete and initial A9 for UK market due in September; no midi planned
Ankai has reaffirmed its commitment to the UK market and says that the first 12m, 49-seat A9 coach will arrive here from China in September.
The A9 is powered by a Euro 6c Cummins ISL engine rated at 400bhp coupled to a ZF EcoLife automatic gearbox, and Ankai recently completed the first right-hand drive example.
It will go to a buyer in Hong Kong. The first of a batch of 10 A9s for the UK will enter production in July.
Although Ankai does not rule out adding electric PCVs to its UK offering, in a change to its previous plans the A9 will now be the only diesel coach to come here.
Previously, Ankai had talked of bringing in a 9.4m midicoach with the further possibility of extending it to 10.1m, but it is understood that those plans are now off the table.
“The only diesel coach coming to the UK will be the A9, because Ankai sees little focus on diesel going forward,” says one of Ankai’s representatives.
Ankai describes the A9 as a general-purpose coach and it says that it will be very competitively priced. Currently the A9’s maximum seating capacity is 47 with a toilet but it is hoped that will grow to 49 with toilet in due course.
“The European launch of the A9 at Busworld Kortrijk in October 2017 went well and visitors were pleasantly surprised with it,” says the source.
