Despite the war, the industrial potential of Ukraine was enriched by another automobile production: city low-floor buses began to be manufactured in Sumy.
Passenger cars were named “Sumchanin”. The first two medium-sized buses are already running on route No. 20 “Hospital – Airport”. It is expected that by the end of the year the local road carrier PE Sogor will receive 10 more such vehicles.
A cabin with a low floor in urban passenger logistics is much more convenient, if only because boarding and disembarking passengers is much faster. Plus interior comfort with storage areas at the doors.
The bus has a total passenger capacity of more than 40 seats, of which 23 are seated, one is for a passenger with a disability and a spacious area for 18 standing passengers.
Feedback from Sumy residents about the new public transport is positive; many feel proud of the domestic bus production that began in their city.
The short message from the mayor's office says nothing about production, which is quite justified in war conditions. Said it's a local business. According to the head of the department of transport, communications and telecommunication services Sergei Yakovenko, work on this bus began even before the war.
Both the technological component and the documentary component took a lot of the company’s time. However, “Sumchanin” passed the tests and passed full certification; the plant has permission to perform the corresponding type of work.
The passenger car received a Mercedes-Benz unit base. However, there are also body elements from a German manufacturer.. The features of the front of the passenger car are recognizable as the legendary Vario, which Mercedes-Benz kept on the assembly line for almost two decades. This model is still used by bus manufacturers in different countries, and the Sumy plant is no exception.
Despite 10 years since the cessation of production of the popular series (2013), these cars in various modifications are quite popular in Ukraine. Demand is not only for trucks in various body versions. On this basis, the German manufacturer also produced minibuses with parabolic spring suspension and power steering.
Obviously, the Sumy manufacturer took advantage of this aggregate base. There are quite reliable dual-circuit brakes with optional hydraulic or pneumatic drive and ABS and ALB systems.
Vario was famous for two versions of power units – a 5-cylinder diesel engine OM602DE LA with a displacement of 2874 cc. cm and 4-cylinder OM904LA with a working volume of 4249 cc. cm with direct injection, turbocharging and intercooling of charge air. In various modifications they developed from 122 to 177 hp.
As for the body, the features of the developments already available in Ukraine in the segment of passenger cars can be discerned here.. It is possible that there is unification here with buses from domestic manufacturers in individual components.
Let's say the windows are very similar to the popular ZAZ A07 or 08 commuter bus with approximately the same number of seats. If they are not twins, they are not very distant relatives. They have quite similar configurations for the taillights, turn signals and brake lights.. It is likely that the supplier of lanterns and glass from both manufacturers is the same.