As the primary transport sponsor for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and a FIFA partner, motor company Hyundai Automotive South Africa has been commissioned to supply a minimum requirement of 64 luxury coaches – two coaches for each of the 32 teams in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

This has provided a good advertising platform for Hyundai’s new Universe luxury coach range, the only bus range it intends supplying for the sporting event – which is providing an opportunity to launch the Universe coach into right-hand-drive markets – says Hyundai GM for the commer- cial vehicle division Ettienne du Preez.

The 39-seat Universe luxury coach range is purpose-built for team and VIP transport, including comfortable seating, a toilet, a 4 × 2 chassis and a 380-hp engine. Although the initial specifications from the Department of Transport (DoT) required a Euro 4 engine, it is Euro 3 compliant. “Hyundai could have supplied a Euro 5 engine, but, in 2008, when the DoT was asked to confirm if the fuel companies could supply Euro-4- or -5-compliant fuel, the DoT could not do so,” he says.

The coach tyres are all the same size and they are lightweight, which makes it more fuel efficient and reduces emissions. The Universe coach range is a solid unit. All its components are manufactured by Hyundai, in South Korea, and built to European standards before being imported to South Africa.

Twelve units have been bought by tour operator Springbok Atlas, the official 2010 FIFA World Cup operator, and were first introduced and used at the 2009 Confedera- tions Cup. Hyundai received positive feedback from the teams who were transported in the Universe coach. More recently, the Universe coach was used to transport the national cricket team, the Proteas.

The company still has to supply 52 coaches and is in negotiations with various companies, who are interested in buying the coaches. Some of these companies include luxury coach company Luqray Coaches and ESC. Hyundai would then lease back the Universe coaches from these operators during the World Cup.

Du Preez says that about 200 coaches are sold every year in South Africa and because 216 are required for the World Cup, the yearly sales of coaches will double for 2010. However, he does not believe that there will be enough buses for the sporting event. “There will be an undersupply and overdemand during the 40 days of the sporting event. I believe that the main concern for manufacturers is what to do with the coaches afterwards.

“If the demand for [the event] is met, there will be an over- supply of used coaches for about the next year and a half, which means that no new coaches will be sold,” says Du Preez. This, in turn, would have a serious effect on companies building bus bodies: orders for bus bodies would decrease as most buses would already be manufactured.

But for Hyundai it goes beyond selling coaches – its concern extends to distribu- ting these vehicles after the World Cup. Du Preez says that Hyundai is now also taking on a consultative role and wants to determine that the companies buying the coaches will be commercially viable post-2010. “Many factors will play a role – not just the financial backing, but also obtaining permits from the DoT. This is currently a serious obstacle for the com- pany,” he explains.

The company hopes that, after 2010, the coaches would ideally be used, not only in public transport, but also in other areas, like tourism. The challenge is obtain- ing permits. “The DoT is very [selective] in issuing permits for bus routes to coach operators, because it does not want to flood the market. It is a Catch-22 situation for Hyundai in trying to supply buses to meet demand for next year, when our customers may not have the opportunity to run them [after the World Cup] without permits,” admits Du Preez.

Another challenge for bus transporters is the training of bus drivers. In distributing the coaches after the World Cup, Hyundai is also trying to align with established coach-operating companies, which already have their own set of best practices. These best practices would then be transferred to the bus drivers/owners. Hyundai will also be involved in the skills training of drivers as, Du Preez says, it will lower maintenance costs for the companies and the vehicles will be better maintained.

However, there seems to be an undersupply of skilled bus drivers. “We are drawing from an industry that is already small. Bus operators have contracted [many] drivers out to international tour-operating companies. We have the coaches, but we do not necessarily have the drivers,” says Du Preez.

Meanwhile, the company is investigating a new bus range, which, if it proves viable, may be released toward the end of 2010. The 26- to 28-seat County Bus would have a Hyundai-manufactured chassis and a locally or internationally manufactured body. “This type of bus serves a very small market. For example, Springbok Atlas owns only two. But, [in similar buses manufactured by other com- panies], the chassis is converted from a truck chassis, which makes for a very hard ride. This gives Hyundai a competitive advantage,” he says.

He says that Hyundai has a bus range that runs on compressed natural gas (CNG), but, unfortunately, South Africa does not have the infrastructure required for it. The buses would have to return to a depot at night to refuel, as filling stations do not have gas pumps. But Du Preez says that the lack of infrastructure is not the only problem; the entire [gas] industry needs to be regulated. Gas, like diesel, is seasonal and [the prices] are not regulated. Also, the more vehicles run on gas, the higher the demand and, therefore, the price will be. “As soon as the country [makes CNG available], Hyundai will be able to roll out a CNG product range without much difficulty,” he concludes.