AVM Africa re-emerges, introduces new bus design

Oscar J Jeke

Zimbabwe-owned automotive manufacturer, Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers Africa Private Limited has re-emerged in the local market, dominated by foreign bus companies, with the introduction and launch of the new AVM city bus.

The bus company engaged the Public Service Commission for a user trial of its 120 carrying capacity prototype demonstration, with the public employer engaged as one of the potential customers, also looking to provide feedback from their participation in the test drive.

Speaking after the test drive demonstration, Secretary of the Services Commission, Dr Tsitsi Choruma said that the bus has the comfort and suits the transportation conditions of the working people.

However, she noted that the design needs to add a touch into modern technology by inserting charging ports, air conditioning and WIFI in order to improve and meet passenger satisfaction.

“It’s a comfortable bus because our distances are short from where we pick our people to where they work. However, I think what I like about this bus besides the comfort, is that we can actually design the bus with them, we are in a modern world and the Public Service Commission is thinking about digitalisation. In digitising our work, we also think that the transport that carries our staff ought to have that, so we need charging ports, so that professionals can do some work.”

She also added that the initiative by AVM Africa is in line with vision of the government to improve the working and transport conditions of all commuters, while PSC appreciates the manufacturing of vehicles locally, which reduces the importation of foreign-made buses in the market.

“Vision 2030 is very clear that we need to be using resources that are locally produced, with our own hands, with our own people and the interest of the Commission is to transition from predominantly importing buses for faring our personnel into understanding which partnerships we can make at the local level where we can leave the resources we have been importing,” Dr Choruma added.

AVM Africa Managing Director, Joseph Kupa, who spoke to Zim Now after the test drive, pointed out that the aim of the company is to take off abruptly, seeing that the Manhizhe steel plant offers them the materials that they used to import, also adding that they are going to be the biggest off-takers of steel produced at the steel plant, as they aim to produce around 40 buses a month, depending on the demand from the market.

“Now our main material is going to be locally produced, so we are going to be the biggest off-taker of steel from Manhize. Currently, we are looking at manufacturing about 40 buses a month but it depends with the off-takers, we are talking with the government and the Public Service, to see how many buses they want, then we put our production programmes accordingly,” he said.