New Brazilian bus has massagers and screens; see – 10/07/2023 – Market

Body manufacturer Marcopolo bet on luxury to attract attention at Busworld, held in Brussels (Belgium).

The Brazilian company took the most equipped version of its Paradiso G8 1800 DD bus to the event. With two floors, it has individual screens for the occupants and a massage system in some seats — all of them are bed-type.

This configuration is rare in the European market, which guarantees the continuous entry and exit of visitors. The most popular seats are the six on the lower floor: that’s where the massagers are.

The rear view mirrors were replaced by cameras. The system has infrared night vision, according to company information.

The complete Paradiso G8 costs the equivalent of R$4 million for export. There is capacity for 35 passengers on its two floors.

“This configuration does not exist in Europe. We brought it to get feedback from this market, which is complex, but not very large”, says José Luiz Moraes Goés, director of sales and international operations at Marcopolo.

The executive states that there are company buses in circulation in more than 140 countries, but the operation in Europe is still small. “There’s a hole in the middle of the world map that we want to explore.”

The brand’s stand is 500 square meters, enough space for just one large bus — the Paradiso G8 is 15 meters long and 4.1 meters wide. The other novelty was in an external area of ​​the event.

This is the Audace 1050 road bus, which is powered by a hydrogen fuel cell. The model, which is assembled in China, was developed in partnership with Sinosynergy and Allenbus. Marcopolo has been operating in the Asian country since 2001.

The Brazilian company is working to have the model that does not emit pollutants be approved for use in Europe from March 2024, although there is no adequate refueling network on the continent.

The Paradiso G8 follows the old school: it is one of the rare diesel models shown at Busworld 2023. Its chassis supplied by Scania has a 13-liter engine with approximately 500 hp of power.

The company also invests in the development of 100% electric models, which are currently being tested.

The journalist traveled at the invitation of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil