A first Yutong tourist coach from China arrived at the Eilat Port on Monday. It was greeted in a festive ceremony attended by Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz, Chinese Ambassador to Israel Gao Yanping and Eilat Mayor Meir Yitzhak Halevi.
The bus' importer is ultra-Orthodox businessman Yitzhak Koifman, a former Likud activist who currently engages in real estate and biomed. Koifman won the franchise to import from the largest bus manufacturer in China and in the world, which manufactured some 46,000 buses in 2011.
The model that arrived in Israel is equipped with Western components, like a 400-horsepower Cummins motor, and has passed the European Standard ECE-R66 Rollover Test. The importer will offer a three to five-year warranty.
"Our potential customers visited the factory in China and were impressed by the quality of the buses," Koifman told Yedioth Ahronoth. "We are 20% cheaper than our competitors both in purchase and maintenance. We'll also bring urban and interurban buses, midibuses and an electric bus."
The Chinese bus will be sold for some 172,000 (about $224,500) compared to 195,000 ($254,500) for competitors Mercedes or MAN, some of which are assembled in the Israeli bus factories. The factories employ some 800 people and have manufactured about 1,000 buses in the past year.
"Israeli buses are of high quality and are therefore more expensive," says a source in the industry. "However, it's clear that the Chinese success may lead to layoffs in Israel in the long run."
Minister Katz, on the other hand, is not worried. "Yutong will boost competition in this industry, and significantly improve the service given to the Israeli consumer and tourists visiting Israel. I predict great success," he said.
The Transportation Ministry rejected claims made in the industry that Minister Katz was promoting a product competing against the Israeli industry and belonging to his political acquaintance.
"The minister was invited to the ceremony by the Eilat Port company, and his participation was important in a bid to further trade relations between Israel and China. The office's legal advisor confirmed his participation," the Transportation Ministry said in response.
