In a Press Conference held today at the stand of Hispano
Carrocera, the Chairman of the Board of Hispano Carrocera and Managing Director
of Tata Motors Ltd, Mr. Ravi Kant, disclosed the key advances of the
Strategic-Alliance announced last March 2005. Mr. Gerardo Múgica, CEO of the
Spanish company, presented the re-styled version of the DIVO Touring Coach that
was showcased as a premiere in the exhibition.
Busworld Exhibition, which is being held in Kortrijk
(Belgium) from October 21-26, 2005 at the Kortrijk Xpo Centre, is the largest
and oldest specialized event of the Bus & Coach industry. At the booth 110
of Hall 1, with close to 300sqm., Hispano is presenting its latest product
range for the Passenger Transport Industry.
In the press conference, and speaking about the recently
announced strategic alliance between Tata Motors and Hispano Carrocera, the
Managing Director of the Indian Company stated that "This 21% stake in
Hispano is not a simple financial investment but a marriage focused on
reinforcing both companies. This alliance will benefit both the companies.
Hispano will continue to build buses and coaches on chassis specified by
customers. We've recently won an order for 800 Habit buses to be built on Iveco
chassis.
Mr. Gerardo Múgica, speaking also on the occasion,
confirmed that the new manufacturing facility in Casablanca will start
operations next January. Hispano Carrocera Maroc is moving its activities from
a 7,500 sqm plant to a 160,000 sqm. The investment plant of Hispano amounts to
more than 20 million Euro, converting this factory in one of the most
innovative bus manufacturing facilities in North Africa. The overall production
capacity of Hispano now will be increased to 4,000 units a year.
Presenting a re-styled evolution of the DIVO Touring Coach,
Mr. Gerardo Múgica described the 255th unit imported by Petros Petropoulos in
Greece. "This first re-styling applied to the product features also
several technical innovations aimed to provide superior economic results for
the Transport Operators. Its outstanding drag coefficient of CX: 0.349
dramatically reduces fuel consumption and noise, while increases vehicle's
stability on the road".
Also in the exhibition, Hispano showcased a habit Low Entry
for suburban applications. The habit urban & suburban body has sold more
than 2,000 units to date and can be found in such remote places such as
Venezuela or Singapore.
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