Higer Bus Expands Global Service Network in Chile and Philippines

King Long Suzhou Bus Builds a New Export Model of Full-Chain Technical Service and Talent in Latin America and Southeast Asia

Every morning, as the morning light of the Andes Mountains skims across Santiago, the capital of Chile, red-and-white FENCER electric buses glide smoothly along the city's public transport routes, shuttling local citizens to and from work and travel. The quiet and comfortable environment inside the carriage has become a gentle and bright color in the daily travel of this South American city. These new energy buses are all manufactured by King Long Suzhou (Higer) and have long become "Chinese symbols" ubiquitous on the local streets. From the first time stepping out of the country in 2005 to today, King Long Suzhou Higer Bus has deeply cultivated overseas markets for over two decades, leaving footprints in more than 150 countries and regions around the world. The company's development model has also gradually iterated from the early single export of complete vehicle products into an integrated, full-chain export model of technology, service, and talent. Higer buses running all over the world carry the stories of many Chinese manufacturing enterprises "going global."

In Santiago, the bus route from Terminal Bcg1 Buses Vule to the railway station is the core section for the daily operation of Higer FENCER electric buses. Chen Feng, a Chinese overseas service engineer, has been stationed in Chile for a long time, responsible for vehicle operation, maintenance, and performance optimization. During routine vehicle inspections, he often opens his laptop detector to read a complete set of operating data in real time, including the vehicle's battery, powertrain system, and driving conditions, to accumulate first-hand data for vehicle iteration and optimization.

This ordinary working scene has repeatedly triggered the curiosity of local passengers. On one occasion, a local commuter actively inquired about the origin of the bus. Upon learning that it was manufactured in China and that the number of similar models on the local streets was already very substantial, he was greatly surprised: "Doesn't vehicle maintenance and performance optimization require manual troubleshooting in the workshop? Can a Chinese-made bus actually complete full-vehicle inspection and data optimization through just a small black box?" Facing this series of questions, Chen Feng explained that today's Chinese new energy buses are equipped with intelligent systems, allowing vehicle operation data to be synchronized in real time. Most performance inspections and optimization work can be completed online, eliminating the traditional vehicles' heavy reliance on manual workshop maintenance.

From Chen Feng's front-line working perspective, the iterative changes in Chile's public transport are very clear. "The Higer buses in the Chilean market completed their energy iteration long ago. In the early days, those put into operation were mainly diesel vehicles. Since 2019, all newly deployed operating models in the local area have been updated to pure electric buses." He introduced that new energy models have comprehensively replaced traditional fuel-powered models and have become the main force of public transportation in Santiago.

Adapting to local road conditions and climate is the core foundation for Higer Bus to take root in the Chilean market. In 2005, 20 King Long Suzhou buses officially landed in Chile, kicking off passenger transport cooperation between the two places. Chile possesses complex terrain conditions, with the Andes Mountains running through the entire territory, featuring many steep mountain slopes and fluctuating road conditions. Meanwhile, coastal areas experience frequent salt spray weather, demanding extremely high vehicle structural strength, corrosion resistance, and road adaptability. Targeting this localized characteristic, King Long Suzhou targetedly adjusted its vehicle production processes, reinforced full-vehicle structural stability, upgraded body anti-corrosion materials, and adapted to the local complex operating environment. At the same time, the vehicles are equipped with wheelchair ramps and securing devices to adapt to local barrier-free travel needs, fitting the city's public transport supporting standards.

To ensure long-term stable vehicle operations, King Long Suzhou has also built a complete localized service system in Chile. According to Liu Xin, Director of the Overseas Customer Service Department of King Long Suzhou, the enterprise has built two spare parts central warehouses in the Santiago Metropolitan Region to realize nearby storage and rapid replenishment of components, shortening vehicle repair waiting cycles. In terms of staffing, the team has assembled a localized workforce of nearly ten employees, while stationing 3 to 5 Chinese engineers on-site for the long term. Through hand-in-hand teaching and on-site practical training, they cultivate local maintenance technical talents, achieving localized and normalized vehicle operation and maintenance, and guaranteeing the stable, normalized operation of Higer buses across the city.

The achievements made by Higer Bus in the Latin American market are the long-term result of twenty years of continuous deep cultivation and the layer-by-layer landing of technology and service. Meanwhile, in the Philippines of Southeast Asia, Higer Bus relies on the adaptive capacity of continuous product iterations to precisely match the operating pain points and development needs of the local passenger transport industry, demonstrating mutual growth with local enterprises in long-term cooperation.

In April 2026, fuel prices in the Philippines rose sharply, causing a surge in the operating costs of local fuel passenger vehicles. A person in charge of a passenger transport enterprise did the math: the cost of a single full tank of fuel for a local traditional fuel vehicle was as high as 53,272 pesos, and the high fuel consumption costs pushed long-distance passenger routes to the brink of losses. In contrast, a pure electric bus could save nearly 2,284 pesos per hundred kilometers compared to a fuel bus, saving about 11,876 pesos for a single day's operation of 520 kilometers.

"The Higer pure electric buses purchased in advance have become a key decision for our passenger transport enterprise to alleviate operational pressure," this person in charge introduced. Front-line operational data shows that Higer pure electric buses feature convenient charging, stable power output, and low driving noise, with good passenger feedback, effectively solving the operating difficulties of high costs and high wear-and-tear of fuel vehicles. Based on the dual improvement of actual operating revenues and user experience, the passenger transport enterprise clearly stated that it will continue to increase its purchase volume of Higer pure electric buses to gradually complete the overall new energy upgrade of its fleet.

Passenger Company B in the southern part of Luzon Island, Philippines, is one of the local enterprises in long-term cooperation with King Long Suzhou. Lu Shimin, Service Supervisor for the Southeast Asia Region I of King Long Suzhou, introduced that previously, the company owned only 30 buses, mainly operating small regional passenger routes. To expand its business scale and stabilize its operational capability, the enterprise chose to reach a strategic cooperation with Higer Bus, introducing Higer's main models into its core passenger routes. Relying on stable vehicle performance, Passenger Company B gradually expanded its operational map and successfully secured the operational rights for several core transport arteries in southern Luzon Island, such as the Quezon City-Bicol route, developing from a regional small operator into a backbone passenger transport enterprise covering the Manila and Bicol areas.

"Since 2025, out of trust in product quality, Passenger Company B has expanded the scale of cooperation once again, purchasing over 20 Higer next-generation V-series high-end diesel buses in batches," Lu Shimin introduced. This model adopts a lightweight body paired with a high-efficiency engine. Compared with traditional passenger buses, its fuel economy performance is improved by more than 35%, directly reducing the enterprise's fuel procurement costs and full-lifecycle vehicle operation and maintenance expenditures. At the same time, the model features better exhaust emission indicators and lower carbon emissions, which highly aligns with the development requirements of local green transportation in the Philippines, helping Passenger Company B achieve two-way optimization of operating costs and environmental protection standards.

From daily commuting at the foot of the Andes to long-distance passenger transport on Luzon Island, twenty years of continuous deep cultivation relies not on one-time export orders, but on the product's adaptation to local road conditions, the service's responsiveness to operational scenarios, and the trust accumulated over time. As buses manufactured in China become a daily sight on more and more streets and alleys around the world, the export chronicle of King Long Suzhou is also writing another possibility for Chinese manufacturing going global—not winning by scale, but winning longevity by taking root.