Who would have thought that in the production of buses is so much manual labor? Perhaps in the interior design and paintwork because each bus company there has different requirements. Also one sees the incredible number of possible combinations e.g. of fabrics at trade shows. Even seats and their arrangements seem available in abundance.

But that at least the upper part of the body is virtually welded together from square tube? Below you can see the production at Mercedes in Germany, also divided into small sections. After all, one still uses here racks and templates and then measures, albeit partly with the tape measure. One can only suspect how difficult and therefore expensive might be the repair of a bus when damaged to the bodywork.

Yes, a bus is just not a truck, although it benefits from its drive, for example. At MAN e.g., one has produced good 75,000 trucks and only 5,400 buses in 2013, the former with profit, the latter with loss. The rich in tradition Neoplan factory in Plauen was closed and the total production combined in Ankara (Turkey), where, incidentally, Daimler manufactures, too. Turkey develops slowly to a significant producer also because of other automotive activities.

Overall, it is no wonder that a bus will cost at least 2.5 times that of a truck. At the very bottom we have still films of truck production for you. 12/15