Bustech


Bustech is an Australian advanced bus original equipment manufacturer. Bustech manufactures fully built up integral buses and also bus bodies, built on chassis supplied by third party manufacturers. Bustech was established by the then owners of Gold Coast, Queensland bus operator, Surfside Buslines. In 1998, the first bus was completed in their original Ernest, Queensland factory.
In Bustech’s early years, production generally focused on producing low entry, route bus bodies for European chassis from manufacturers such as Mercedes-Benz, Volvo and Scania, predominantly under their VST model line. Smaller numbers of school buses and charter/touring vehicles were also produced. In 2004, Bustech relocated to a purpose built factory in Burleigh Heads, Queensland which remains their headquarters today. Bustech produced its first integral bus in 2007, the MDi, which is a midi-sized route bus using key components from ZF and Caterpillar. Bustech then expanded into full size route and school buses largely using Cummins engines. Bustech also produces an urban double deck bus known as the CDi and Australia’s first locally engineered and built electric bus, the ZDi.
Bustech products are also assembled under agreement with Elphinstone Engineering in Tasmania and with a joint venture partner, Precision Buses in Adelaide, South Australia, since 2017.
Bustech previously formed part of the Transit Australia Group, but was retained by the Calabro family following sale in April 2019. In September 2019, it was announced that Bustech will be merging with Precision Buses, under a new holding company called Australian Bus Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fusion Capital Holdings.

History

Bustech was founded by the proprietors of Surfside Buslines, Joe and Tony Calabro, on the Gold Coast. It initially bodied buses on Mercedes-Benz and Volvo chassis.
Most of the early buses were built for the Calabro operations Surfside, Busabout and Hawkesbury Valley. Following the collapse of the Clifford Corporation, Bustech was successful in winning orders from a variety of operators, primarily in Queensland and New South Wales. In October 2004 Bustech moved to a new factory in Calabro Way, West Burleigh.
In 2008, Bustech became part of the Transit Australia Group as part of a restructuring of the Calabro operations. In the same year, the company launched its first integral bus, the 10.5 metre MDi. This was followed by the 12.5 metre XDi and in July 2011 by the 12.5 metre CDi double decker, the first double deck citybus built for Australian operation since 1973.
In November 2009, Bustech completed its 1000th bus.
In July 2015, in collaboration with Swinburne University of Technology, the Automotive Cooperative Research Centre and the Malaysian Automotive Institute, Bustech unveiled its first electric bus to be designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia. Bustech has already signed a AUD$170 million contract to manufacture electric buses for the Malaysian government in late 2014.
Bustech was not included in the April 2019 purchase of the Transit Australia Group by the AATS Group. In September 2019, it was announced that Bustech will be merging with its joint venture partner Precision Buses, which is owned by Fusion Capital Holdings. Both organisations will have a combined strategic management and direction under a new holding company called Australian Bus Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fusion. However, each of them will retain their own brand identities and continue to operate in their own capacity at their respective facilities.

Models

Currently, Bustech produces six bus models:
Both the MDi and XDi were also available with Caterpillar C7 engines. However, as they have ceased production of highway engines, the vehicles can now only be specified with Cummins engines.
The VST was also available with Volvo B12BLE engine however it ceased production. The Volvo B7RLE engine is used instead on VST's from 2011.