Those good news and bad news came along with the Spring Festival of 2008,  as coach industry of China was harvesting from its surging on annual turnover,  from annual exporting valued at 791.49 million USD,  but at the same time,  heavy snow sweeping most of southern China threatened the safety of the passengers on the way home,  many traffic accidents were reported,  left with many casualties and even deaths. 

 As experts estimated,  both the turnout and turnover domestic will keep its momentum this year,  as a consequence,  however,  the safety and quality are confronted with severe challenge also,  a threaten to the passengers lives as well as to healthy development to coach industry.

Bloody accidents has settled down in traveling passengers like heavy clouds,  and also forced the administrative authorities to pay more attention to coach safety.  From February this year,  a stricter compulsory standard the safety requirements on coach structure was put to effect.  Safety standards getting stricter,  competition fiercer,  the experts observed,  coach industry will face with a new round of reshuffling.

Manufacturers push safety waves

Under such circumstances,  coach manufacturers feel obliged to reconsider the value of safety.

Domestically,  for a long time there is an insufficiency in compulsory standards for coach safety.  The regulation on strength of coach upper structure,  promulgated previously,  is a standard just for recommendation,  no enforcing power to enterprises.  It has brought about some coaches,  which is not safety enough in structure,  on the market.  Whereas some large enterprises,  instead of slacken themselves on loose policy,  with strategic vision and social responsibility,  take initiatives in introducing new technology to develop new products,  advancing the safety of coach in China.  During this time,  two issues are worth mentioning as landmarks.

Coach specialists,  manufacturers,  administrators and customers discussing the safety issues.

The one is the introduction of integral designed bodywork which was introduced from EvoBus,  Germany by Ankai in 1993,  augmenting remarkably coach passive safety by its unique ability to break down the impacts.  Stimulated by that,  most coach manufacturers began to endeavor in using latest technology to raise safety.  As a result,  the safety level of all coaches has been upgraded. But due to high costs and complex of technologies, most brands did not choose integral designed bodywork, only Ankai coaches employ this technology on all its products series. The other is the first coach capsize experiment in China. On the 14th June 2005, Ankai coach pioneered coach-capsize experiment at auto Laboratory in Xiangfan, Hubei Province. According to international standard concerning the coach capsizing experiment, the slanting angel is 35 degree, Anaki coach reached 40 degree when capsizing, illustrating its safety features even measured up against international stick yard. Following up its suit, some other brands later conduct experiment of the same kind, consequently coaches industry move forwards in safety performance. More and more attention has been paid to the safety issue. ABS, ASR has become standard components to be furnished on the coaches. In spite of improvements of coach safety, the insider disclosed, some enterprises still brush aside it as a minor problem, and coach industry on the whole has not put it on the daily agenda. On contrary, Anaki is leading the industry in safety respect.

Anaki president Wang Jiang-an delivering welcome speech

From the first of February this year, the state safety requirement on coach structure was put to effect. Unlike the previous standard only for recommendation, it is a compulsory standard. In response actively to state requirement, Anaki began to take measures to advance coach safety. On the 18th, April, with tangible safety as theme, Ankai sponsored a symposium in Chongqing, to discuss with administrators, specialists and customers the safety technologies and facilities, reconsider the potential value of inherent safety of Ankai coach. The experts predicted, after the promulgation of the new standard, coach industry would undergo a shakeup, some firms could be ruled out, some would survive for advanced technology. He gave an example, from 1993 up to now, there are more than 80 Ankai coaches running on the route from Chengdu to Chongqing, and there are no severe safety accidents with casualties and deaths. For Anaki, which has always attached great importance to safety, the new standards means only opportunities for development.

Guests visiting Anaki coaches

For more than ten years, Ankai has always taken it as guidance in brand establishment to put the life before everything else when building coaches. They constantly put product safety as top element. No matter with design or with technical renovation, Ankai has incessantly held to the awareness of passengers lives, and deemed it a prerequisite to the products sustainable survival and the firms continued growth in business. Ankai coach possesses the patents of integral designed bodywork of the leading technology, and advanced anti-corrosion techniques which guarantees to keep body without rusts for ten years. Anaki coach products are fixed with retarder, automatic extinguisher to engine room, automatic lubrication system for entire coach, automatic diagnosis system for trouble shooting, poisonous gas detecting and warning system, over speed and fatigue driving warning system, infra-red view instrument, ABS, break slack self adjusting arm, ASR, and safety belt. Such devices and facilities effectively reduced accident probability. Even the accidents really happen, with the help of integral designed body, the passenger's lives can be guaranteed to the most extend.

Safety will win

With bracing competition, demanding standards and improving safety awareness on customers side, the market will favor the coach with higher safety. For passengers, unreliable coaches have a large probability of accidents. Passengers tend to take safety as first priority when embark on the journey. On the route from Chengdu to Chongqing, Ankai coach has been so reliable that the passengers praised that they would get on no other coaches than Ankai. Transport operators have also preference to Ankai coach, not only because its high reputation attracts more passengers to increase their operative profits, but also because its safety guarantees the passengers lives to the most when accidents happen, thus to pay for the damages to the least. This has been proved by the customer's choice. For more than ten years, Anaki has held the number one position in southwest region of China in terms of regional selling and accumulative selling. In spite the coach exporting in 2007 is eye-catching and will keep its momentum this year, according to experts predictions, yet safety is still the first threshold for coach exporting, for international standard of safety are very strict. Take Australian ADR as an example, the coach components such as back-up lights, safety belt, tires, brake system, impact protective devices for passengers should meet the stricter requirements. Anaki 13.7 meters coach is the first type to obtain this accreditation, a proof of Ankai's leading technology in safety.

The tangible safety symposium

Being a special product to carry lives, coach should take the safety as its element in brand, and safety will win the trust of passengers, eventually win the market, professor WangJian form Chongqing Communication University pointed out. The fact that most passengers in southwest region have always preferred Anaki coach when traveling illustrates the importance of safety. During the Spring Festival when heavy snow caused traffic accidents, a survivor from a capsizing recalled, he will never ride on unreliable coach. Accident will diminish the passenger's confidence in the brand and undermine the brand reputation.