Ten Years of Successful Business with ISUZU Buses in the Czech Republic

(BusPress – Prague, 7 January 2014) TURANCAR CZ is an exclusive importer of the ISUZU low-capacity buses that has been successfully operating on the Czech market for ten years. Ten years is a period long enough to make the exotic ISUZU brand familiar in the Czech Republic. Mr. Viktor Wiesner is the executive head representing TURANCAR CZ: he has worked for the Company since its foundation in 2004. We talked about the past ten years and how the business with buses is run in the newly opened service and sales centre, ISUZU BUS TURANCAR, in Praha – Stodůlky.

New service and sales center TURANCAR Bus in Prague – Stodůlky, foto: Zdeněk Nesveda

VW: The past ten years have definitely not been boring: it is just like in any other business, once you are up and other time you are down. This particular business is strongly affected by the economic conditions and the overall atmosphere in the society. When people have no money, they save, they do not travel and thus the carriers do not buy new buses. However, thanks to our long operation on the Czech market we have learned to successfully deal with crises and pitfalls in the sale of buses.

What years do you think were good for TURANCAR?

VW: The good years have probably already passed; the best years for our Company were 2006 and 2007 when the number of foreign tourists coming to the Czech Republic was the highest and incoming travel agencies, which were purchasing buses from us, were doing very well. We sold more than twenty buses per year, which is a very good result in our sector. On the contrary, the years between 2009 and 2011 were weak, not only in our line of business. We now feel that the situation is getting better; the year 2013 ends in the black, we have sold 12 buses which is definitely a success after the lean years. It is not a reason to celebrate but we are happy.

Are you preparing any novelties in the jubilee tenth year?

VW: Yes, it is more than time to change a lot of things. I feel that we have come to stagnation and that we are treading water. We are preparing several new things. The year 2014 is going to be symbolic for us and that makes it appropriate for implementing overall changes. One of the weaknesses of our Company was the service centre that did not meet the current requirements. We have moved to new premises that are a New Year’s gift for our customers and also for us.

New service and sales center TURANCAR Bus in Prague – Stodůlky, foto: Zdeněk Nesveda

However, those are not all the changes that are under way. We have a good position on the market with midi-buses and we would like to keep that position in the future. For the upcoming season, we have prepared a new marketing plan, which we are not going to disclose, of course. Generally, we are planning to enforce the ISUZU brand on the Czech market and strengthen our sales activities in new areas in Bohemia and Moravia. This year, we will offer new models with Euro VI engines for the NOVO and Turquoise buses and in the second half of the year, we will introduce a brand new bus: VISIGO Euro VI with the Cummins engine and with the horsepower of 250. We are bringing a new concept to the market with this bus: its frame is designed with an engine in the back. The new VISIGO will be nine meters long and it will carry up to 39 passengers.

What makes the ISUZU brand exceptional?

VW: ISUZU is a Japanese brand with a worldwide recognition and in 2016 it will celebrate one hundred years from the commencement of the production of first automobiles. The car factory received the name of ISUZU in 1933 after a river that flows through the ancient city of Ise in the Mie prefecture. The letters in the logo represent the flowing river in the colour of the rising sun. ISUZU is particularly famous for its highly-reliable light commercial vehicles in the N series that hold the world record as the bestselling truck with an annual production of 253,000 pieces! ISUZU is also an unbeatable global player on the market with Diesel engines with an annual production of 1.2 million pieces. We have been representing the unique brand for ten years in the Czech Republic; however, it is better known in Asia, Africa and the U.S. Our goal is to make ISUZU more visible and to increase its prestige with Czech customers. The buses we sell come from the Japanese-Turkish consortium from the Anadol ISUZU plant in Turkey that celebrates its 30^th anniversary this year.

What are your plans and objectives for the next period?

VW: We have new buses from 2013 in stock and we are anticipating the aforementioned VISIGO Euro VI 2014 and new NOVO, Turquoise and Citi Euro VI buses that will be introduced all over the Czech Republic at fairs and exhibitions. We will start the season at the Brno GO and Prague Holiday World tourism fairs and the last exhibition we will participate in will be the traditional Czechbus that takes place in Prague in November. We are planning to show all the advantages of these exceptional buses, not only at the fairs and exhibitions but also in other places all over the country. Our main objective is to keep the increasing trend in the sale of the buses as well as the spare parts. One of the objectives is to penetrate other areas than tourism. Just like in the neighbouring countries, we also want to sell school buses and buses for corporate transportation, or city and suburban buses. We are planning to effectively use our resources in advertising and PR in order to make the ISUZU brand and our individual products visible.

New service and sales center TURANCAR Bus in Prague – Stodůlky, foto: Zdeněk Nesveda

What problems are you currently dealing with?

VW: There are several issues but the most unpleasant one is the current unfavourable Czech crown exchange rate that increases the final price of the buses for our customers. As far as the competition is concerned, the price is not decisive: everyone will have to increase prices no matter what. However, what concerns us is that the already difficult situation our customers – carriers – have to deal with will be even more aggravated. We are worried about the generally unfavourable situation in transportation when new buses are needed but most carriers cannot purchase new ones due to financial reasons and therefore they buy old, second-hand buses from abroad. The state should be more interesting in the development of public mobility and modernization of public transportation. The improvement of the situation would help improve the quality and safety of public transportation, the conditions of the environment and also the economic situation of the carriers as well as car dealers.

New service and sales center TURANCAR Bus in Prague – Stodůlky, foto: Zdeněk Nesveda

Where do you see the greatest advantages of the buses you offer and what are your recommendations for carriers?

The buses we sell are unofficially classified into the category of “midi-buses”. They suitably complement the size between a mini-bus (8 – 22 seats) and a standard bus with the length of 12m and capacity of up to 50 seats. The main advantage of ISUZU is that the Company has been specializing in low-capacity buses for a long time and has achieved exceptional results in this area. The buses are made in large series with only a few modifications which ensures a very good quality for a reasonable price. All the bus (midi-bus) models we offer have one denominator: long-term operating efficiency. Our buses generate profit thanks to their qualities, provided that the rules of maintenance and care for their overall condition are observed. If so, the buses have low consumption and they reliably serve during their operating life; they can drive for hundreds of thousand kilometres without any issues. The new service centre will also contribute to the good condition of the buses owned by our customers: it is the only centre that can set optimal parameters for a reliable operation. Also, we believe that the newly build spare parts warehouse in the total value exceeding five million crowns is a great advantage: we have been using the warehouse to supply our clients from all over the Czech Republic and abroad.

BusPress – Zdeněk Nesveda