Ankai

Anhui Ankai Automobile Co., Ltd was founded on July 22, 1997, and was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, China's second largest stock exchange, three days later. A license agreement for the construction of buses with a self-supporting body was signed with the Setra bus brand, which now belongs to the Daimler subsidiary EvoBus. This made Ankai the first company in Asia to produce this type of body, also known as a monocoque. Just one year later, in November 1998, the 500th bus was manufactured.^[3]

In 2001, the license agreement with EvoBus was extended for an additional ten years. The contract permitted Ankai to produce the SETRA S 315 coach model, which won the Coach of the Year award. That same year, construction began on a new automobile factory in Hefei. With an initial production capacity of 1,000 vehicles per year, this facility became the largest production site for comfort buses in China. Licensed production of the S 315, under the name Ankai Setra HFF6120K35(S315), commenced as early as November 2002. In the years that followed, Ankai played a crucial role in developing the nationwide long-distance bus network with modern vehicles that meet Western comfort and safety standards. In September 2002, scheduled bus services from Inner Mongolia to the capital, Beijing, commenced using Ankai-Setra buses. This also marked one of the first fast and comfortable long-distance bus routes in China.^[4]

In March 2008, an Ankai bus, the first bus manufactured by a Chinese company, received safety and environmental certification from the Australian Transport Authority. This certificate, which largely aligns with the stringent requirements of the ECE regulations, marked a decisive step in the company's further development. It enabled access to the lucrative European markets, which are heavily regulated concerning technical specifications. Another milestone in the company's history was the sale of 11 Ankai double-decker buses to the Big Bus Company in June 2010. This marked the first time that buses from China entered the US market, following lengthy negotiations with the approval and import authorities. The unit price was RMB 2 million.^[5] The buses were painted with oversized USA flags and are used as tourist buses in Las Vegas and San Francisco. In the same year, double-decker buses were sold on the South African market, which had previously been dominated by British models.^[6]

In 2022, Ankai partnered with JAC Motors and BYD to build a power battery plant.^[7]

• Buses:
  • A5
  • A6
  • A8
  • A9
  • Baositong K7
  • K8
  • F7
  • G7
  • G9
  • N7
• School bus:
  • S6
  • S7
  • S9
• EV buses and vans:
  • G6
  • G7
  • G9
  • A6
  • K7
  • E6
  • E9
  • T3/ Kuaileyun (快乐运) ^[8]
  • T5

• 
  An Ankai HFF6609KDE5FB minibus in Shanghai, China
• 
  An Ankai HFF 6904KZ 8 coach on display at IAA 2012 in Hannover, Germany
• 
  An Ankai HFF 6110GS
• 
  An Ankai HFF 6120GS01C at Beijing West railway station
• 
  An Ankai bus in service in Shenzhen
• 
  TransJakarta HFF6180G02D bendy bus.
• 
  TransJakarta Ankai HFF6120D17D bus with body from New Armada.
• 
  Electric transit bus operated by Electra-Afikim at BIG Terminal, Ashdod, Israel, 2025

• Setra