Maschinenfabrik Augsburg Nuernburg, better known as the MAN Group, has been involved in the production of commercial vehicles, machinery and plant construction for centuries. The first MAN bus in Hong Kong can be traced back to 1988, when a 16.240 was shipped to the territory. MAN buses in Hong Kong franchised service was started in 1997 when a Volgren bodied MAN 24.350 was purchased by Citybus. After the improvement in sales in the past 5 years, a large variety of vehicles have been imported. Body builders for these buses include Goeppel of Germany, Berkhof of the Netherlands, Caetano of Spain, China Kong and Asia of Hong Kong, Volgren of Australia, Boulevard of Taiwan and Santa Rosa of the Philippines.
In Hong Kong, Citybus is the largest operator, with a 24.350 and 80 NL262s. Kowloon Motor Bus has a fleet of 47 18.310s. Kwoon Chung Bus Group operates Australian 10.160 AEL shuttle buses, German 13.220 and 18.310 coaches and even a 24.310 double-decker. Discovery Bay Transport Services Limited has a large batch of MAN vehicles, namely 13.220, 14.220, 18.310, NL262, NL263 and NM223.2. The Motor Transport Company of Guangdong and Hong Kong deploys about 50 18.310s to its extensive cross border routes whereas Nam Kee offers residential bus passengers luxurious 18.310s. HAS provides staff transport within the airport with 10.220s and 13.220s. Falcon Bus and Coach had two vintage looking 11.190s with wooden seats and external finish.
MAN buses are also used extensively in Berlin. All the BVG double-deckers currently in service are MAN products.
The sale of MAN buses in Australia and New Zealand has also been pretty good. You can find MAN buses and coaches virtually everywhere in the two countries.
South Africa is another big market for MAN, but most of the buses there are built on front-engined chassis.
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Page created: 31 January 1999
Last updated: 20 February 2020