A 13.2m, two-axle GT13 in right-hand drive form took pride of place on the Yutong stand at Busworld as UK dealer Pelican Bus and Coach confirmed that it will deliver the first production examples to buyers here in 2020.
The GT13 is a development of the GT12. Both have been created specifically for the European market. Pelican has already ordered a stock batch of the newcomer to complement its stock GT12 intake. Those coaches will have 57 seats and a toilet.
It shares a common driveline with the GT12 in DAF’s 450bhp MX-11 engine and the ZF EcoLife gearbox. At 3.65m to the air-conditioning unit it is slightly lower than the GT12. The longer coach has only one step from the platform to the aisle; the GT12 has two.
Yutong GT13 ‘allows full coverage of two-axle market’
The Yutong GT13 also has the same LCD dashboard screen and high-specification seating. They will also with a wide variety of passenger amenities.
Additionally, Yutong says that thanks to extensive work to reduce noise in the saloon. That makes it up to 3dBa quieter there than some competitors, it adds.
“The GT13 allows us to cover all of the full-size two-axle coach market,” says Pelican MD Richard Crump. “Stock coaches will be ordered as 57-seaters, but they can be downseated either at the factory or after arrival in the UK for buyers who require extended legroom.”
Indication of UK market’s importance
Yutong adds that the prototype GT13 being in right-hand drive form demonstrates the importance of the UK market to it as a manufacturer. Pelican recently delivered its 500th Yutong.
A second GT13, also in right-hand drive form and for homologation purposes, has already been completed at the factory in Zhengzhou.
Additionally, Yutong is working on an accessible option for the GT range. Pelican has already delivered a number of wheelchair lift-equipped TC9 midicoaches to customers in the UK.
