Van Hool at IAA 2018

Van Hool, the independent builder of buses, coaches and industrial vehicles,  exhibited once again at IAA in Hannover (Germany),  held from 20-27 September 2018. The company  presented the new features in the EX and TX range .

New drivetrain for the entire EX & TX range

With the introduction of new drivetrains in its EX and T(D)X coaches, Van Hool is moving forward in terms of eco-friendliness, fuel consumption, maintenance costs and travel comfort.

The launch of the DAF ‘Next Gen’ (NG) engines results in substantially reduced consumption and maintenance costs. Many aspects of the DAF MX-11 and MX-13 ‘NG’ engines have been considerably improved in order to lower consumption and CO2 emissions. The engine block has been adapted to ensure less internal friction and resistance, and the engines have been equipped with a new turbo with a faster response time, new pistons for improved combustion efficiency, a cool water pump with variable flow, an also variable high efficiency oil pump, individually controlled alternators, and engine brake. More power and a higher torque were added to the engines. Thanks to down-speeding, the engines will now generate maximum torque at lower engine speeds, resulting in lower fuel consumption and less noise and vibration. Finally, the engine upgrade has led to a vehicle weight reduction of more than 50 kg.

The first test results revealed substantial fuel savings that exceeded the 3% fuel savings announced by DAF in comparison to the previous generation of engines.

Considerably longer maintenance intervals (standard interval of up to 100,000 km, extended interval of up to 150,000 km (MX-11) or even 200,000 km (MX-13), mean significant customer savings on maintenance and repair costs.

Van Hool vehicles therefore offer an attractive and competitive TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) ratio.