We’ve just completed an interesting day at the headquarters of China’s leading bus manufacturer, Higer, near Shanghai. The visit not only provided some details about the planned expansion of the company’s Australian bus operations but also gave us the first view of a number of new light commercial vehicles likely to be imported.

Such has been the rapid growth of Higer that it is currently the third largest bus producer in the world, although only the second-largest in China. It is the country’s largest exporter of buses. In 2009 Higer sold more buses worldwide than Volvo, MAN and Scania combined.

Australia has been one of Higer’s export destinations since 2007 through its Sydney-based distributor, White Motor Corporation (WMC). This turned out to be a timely arrival as tax incentives were introduced shortly afterwards in the wake of the GFC to try to reduce the age of Australia’s bus fleet.

Imported vehicles from any new source country, such as China, will invariably have their quality heavily scrutinised before Australian buyers will commit themselves. As we’ve seen with vehicles from Japan and South Korea it can take a decade or more before they gain widespread acceptance.

Higer has taken a different approach by basically being a vehicle assembler rather than a manufacturer, a not uncommon arrangement in the commercial vehicle business. Through agreements with a number of respected component makers such as Cummins (engines), ZF and Allison (transmissions), Meritor (axles) and Thermo King (air conditioning) Higer is looking to provide customer confidence by linking itself with such well-established brands.

Of more interest to the mainstream Australian car buyer is a new project aimed at breaking into the lucrative light commercial market. Four new vehicles are at various steps of development and production. Yet unnamed, the four have been coded P1 through to P4.

The P1 is a large, luxury people mover along the lines of the Volkswagen Multivan, it is already on restricted sale as a means of testing the Chinese market.

Next in the queue is the P2, a lower-specced people mover with which the company wants to challenge the dominance of the Kia Carnival in the budget-priced family segment.

P3 is especially interesting. It is an entry-level single or dual-cab utility that should have a prototype produced by the end of 2010. Early production models are set to go to the less-demanding African market. Through its close relationship with WMC, Higer is well aware of the popularity of such vehicles in Australia.

Finally, the least progressed of the four vehicles, the P4, is a delivery van of similar dimensions to the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Like the P2 and P3 it will be aimed at the lower end of the market.

The only one of the four models that we were able to see in the metal was the P1 luxury people mover. We were shown three variants, a 15-seater, a 10-seat luxury model and one that is already in operation as an ambulance. The 10-seater that took us on a circuit of the Higer R&D. At first glance it looked solid and comfortable.

The Higer light commercial project is still at its evaluation stage, however given the fact that plans have been made to buy land and build an additional factory adjacent to the existing bus plant it would appear likely that it will go ahead.

The Higer executive in charge of the light commercial project is Raymond Man, the Deputy Director of Overseas Sales. He told us no decision has yet been reached whether the Higer light commercial range will use locally-produced or imported components. It would seem likely that it will be a combination; the P1 was powered by the choice of 2.4-litre turbo-diesel or a Mitsubishi-sourced 2.4-litre petrol.

No timeframe has been provided for the importation of the Higer light commercials to Australia. Distribution will also be another crucial factor in success of the vehicles, but WMC is well-placed as it’s closely linked with the Automotive Holdings Group (AHG) and its large dealer network.