Why wouldn't MAN have any significant advantage over other
manufacturers? Because of AdBlue? I think that is just a small part
of the bus buying decision process for bus companies/authorities,
as all the major bus companies that operate the A95s around the
world already have AdBlue buses in their fleet. What operators are
concerned about are overall costs, and that is where bus
manufacturers truly compete on, instead of just a microscopic view
on SCR/EGR.
It was a big deal for local operators. Call them microscopic
then.
MAN/STK knows that and has that as their selling point on their
marketing material.
MAN's three-door concept bus design can be replicated by any
other bus manufacturers if that design is not patented. LTA does
want to keep prices competitive.
Every bus manufacturer I know who are interested in supplying
buses to LTA claims to be working towards lowering overall costs. I
can't divulge any details because the big tender is coming up, but
what I can say is differentiation under Euro VI won't be as great
as you think.
Who knows, they might rely on brand differentiation and
positioning because social media is currently all over it.