[binaiks]

I got this image in a friend's profile in Facebook. From the comments below, this bus seems to be the "Hino S'elega" model.

The body of this bus is built in India by JCBL (Another King Long in the making). Not much information on specs.

An old news about this bus on Mint:

Vehicle manufacturer Hino Motors​ Sales India Pvt. Ltd will start selling its inter-city luxury buses from April after a four-month delay, a company official said.The joint venture between Hino Motors Ltd, the commercial vehicle arm of Toyota Motor Corp​., and Japanese trading firm Marubeni Corp. had to defer its December launch because of a delay in the so-called homologation process, said Amol J. Sandil, executive vice-president, Hino Motors Sales India.
Homologation is the certification process for imported vehicles to ensure these are roadworthy and match government criteria.
“We should have sold at least 20 buses by now, ” said Sandil.
Hino plans to import the buses in semi-knocked-down form from the parent firm’s Thailand factory. JCBL India Pvt. Ltd, a coach building firm at Mohali, a Chandigarh suburb, will assemble the buses.
Sandil said the company plans to introduce up to 20 units initially, and import more depending on the response.
The launch will put Hino in the ranks of global and domestic manufacturers such as Volvo India Pvt. Ltd, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd, Tata Motors Ltd and Ashok Leyland Ltd which are increasing their presence in India’s luxury coach segment.
Sandil expects the segment, which currently sells 1,200-1,500 units a year, to grow to 5,000 units by 2014. The inter-city bus segment is dominated by Volvo, which sold 120 units in 2009.
The government’s National Highway Development Programme has given a push to long-distance travel by road. Bus makers are launching high-end models that offer greater comfort, to take advantage of improved connectivity.

Read the entire article here.

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by binaiks

An old news about this bus on Mint:
Read the entire article here.

Binai, looks like the news is old. Also there were some reports recently that Hino sacked its sales staff in India. Not sure the launch is still on cards..
Toyota subsidiary, Hino Motors Sales sacks sales staff in India - Economic Times
It is good to see more and more foreign players entering the Indian market. Hope what happened in the 80s wont repeat this time.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Binai, looks like the news is old. Also there were some reports recently that Hino sacked its sales staff in India. Not sure the launch is still on cards..

Not "looks like" - it is indeed old news. I had mentioned that it is "Old" even in my old post. The image attached with the post is new - taken just last week! So, the launch is surely happening.

[Ashley2]

Hino Selega is largely anticipated since last year. The test mule went for Certification in ARAI was rejected and hence the delay!

This bus given, should probably be given under trail to Neeta.

Price and service will be the main issue in positioning this Coach!

[teamveevee]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

Price and service will be the main issue in positioning this Coach!

I assume Hino will be positioned along with Izuzu, upcoming MAN and Tata Hispano Divo, leaving Volvo and MB one level up.
The lower end will be dominated by AL/TATA, upper end with Volvo/MB leaving the new comers to fight it out in the middle...
Out of curiosity, How many coaches IZUZU managed to sell per month after couple of years of existence in India? Anybody know?

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by teamveevee

I assume Hino will be positioned along with Izuzu, upcoming MAN and Tata Hispano Divo, leaving Volvo and MB one level up.
The lower end will be dominated by AL/TATA, upper end with Volvo/MB leaving the new comers to fight it out in the middle...

Selega will be pitted aganist Volvo and MB.
Explorer will be dearer by 15% for a FE coach.
Divo is positioned slightly less than Volvo.
Isuzu which was cheaper has incresed the price recently.

And you decide on the positioning.

Originally Posted by teamveevee

Out of curiosity, How many coaches IZUZU managed to sell per month after couple of years of existence in India? Anybody know?

Over all Isuzu has sold close to 100 coaches since launch, but numbers are reducing MoM!

[moralfibre]

I spotted this exact same Hino bus in Pune at Sangamwadi Bus parking. It is operated by Neeta travels. The engine was pretty silent and the bus looked competitive to a Volvo and Mercedes. Hope we see more competition in the near future.

[ranjithrnath]

Hino RM-2 ac business class bus in Bangladesh
I found these pics from www.bus-and-coach-photos.com
Photo of a BRTC Shyamoli Paribahan Hino rm-2 business class bus plying between dhaka-kolkata directly....fully luxurious air conditioned coaches.
Photo Contributor: Anish Mandal Year: 2011

[Ashley2]

@ Binai - I am not able to see this bus listed in Neeta website. Is it still running or removed from fleet?

[fx45]

Saw this red bus 2 days ago near Domestic Airport Mumbai

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

@ Binai - I am not able to see this bus listed in Neeta website. Is it still running or removed from fleet?

Neeta had never offered "Hino" as a separate class for reservations. I guess they would rotate the bus among the trips listed under "Volvo".

[ranjithrnath]

Is there any difference between the HINO RM bus plying in Bangladesh [i think its also a CKD, body built locally], and JCBL built Hino RM in India?

[conjon]

the RM 2 coaches of bangladesh does not look like the S'elega coach.
The once in bangladesh might have come in from Malaysia or 2nd hand from Japan

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by moralfibre

I spotted this exact same Hino bus in Pune at Sangamwadi Bus parking. It is operated by Neeta travels. The engine was pretty silent and the bus looked competitive to a Volvo and Mercedes. Hope we see more competition in the near future.

Really wish these buses would hit our roads in large numbers soon. These must be a little economical than the VOLVO and MB, I guess. There needs to be some serious competition in this segment. VOLVO, as much as i like it, needs some competition.