Setra


Setra is a German bus division of EvoBus GmbH, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler AG.
The name "Setra" comes from "selbsttragend". This refers to the integral nature of the construction of the vehicles back in the 1950s when competitor vehicles still featured a separate chassis and body. It is also possible that, with an eye to export markets, the company was mindful that for non-German speakers, the name "Kässbohrer" is difficult to pronounce. Until 1995 the firm operated under the name Kässbohrer-Setra, but in that year economic difficulties enforced its sale to Daimler Benz. Since 1995, Setra has been a member of the Daimler Benz subsidiary, EvoBus GmbH.
The North American distribution for Setra by Daimler was set to be partnered and taken over by Motor Coach Industries on April 25, 2012, as Daimler restructured its North American bus operations in 2013; this agreement lasted until the end of 2017 when the REV Group assumed distribution responsibilities.

History

The first Setra coach, the Type S 8, so called because it contained eight rows of seats, was introduced in April 1951 at the German Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung. It featured a self-supporting body designed by Otto Kässbohrer, a concept now featured in most modern coaches and buses. Equally unusual at the time was the decision to locate the engine behind the rear axle; the rear-mounted engine configuration is another Kässbohrer-Setra innovation which subsequently became mainstream. It simplified the production process and created a range of passenger-focused possibilities regarding the floor level in the passenger and driver/crew sections, and for high-floor layouts, flexible use of the underfloor area.

Models

The maximum number of seat rows can be identified by the type designation. In the first Setra series, the number of seats was alone. In the second series, a 0 or 5 was affixed, one of the numbers preceded in each of the following series. Example: S 8, S 140, S 215, S 417 or S 319 UL. The seats are reduced by comforter buildings or a certain star classification; The type designation is retained. Starting from the series 200, additions after the number indicated the equipment: current are H for high-floor construction, HD for high floor, HDH for extra-high floor, DT for double-deck touring bus, MD for mid-height floor, UL for interurban commuter buses and NF for low-floor buses. In the past, the Grand Tourisme, HDS for double-deck, SL for city buses and NR were used for the first highway low-floor. Only a few types were given different designations, for example the S 250 Special and the S 300 NC.
The different models of the 200 series also bore the name designations with name suffixes, whereby the designation International for travel and combi-buses with simplified heating/ventilation was used. The term Communal and Regional were used for regular services, and Rational for travel combination models. The short-term offered club bus model based on the S 210 H deviated the name Real. Air-conditioned high floor buses were called Optimal, the double-deck S 216 HDS Royal and the double-deck S 228 DT Imperial. The export version of the 215 HDH for the US market was called Transcontinental. Some of these designations still existed with the introduction of the 300 series, as for the S 328 DT, at the latest with the introduction of the 400 series, these name additions with the division into MultiClass, ComfortClass and TopClass were abandoned. Additionally, the name Business has been produced in Turkey since 2013, with simpler equipment.

Current

Historic


;Suffixes
DTDoppelstock-Touristikbusdouble-deck touring bus
HDHochdeckerhigh floor
HDHHochdecker highextra-high floor
HDSSuperhochdeckersuper-high floor
HRHochdecker Regionalhigh floor commuter
MDMitteldeckermid floor
NRNiederflur Rationalsloped floor
ULÜberlandinterurban

Major incidents