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Mexicana de Autobuses, S.A., or MASA, was a major
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
and
coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
manufacturer located in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...
. Formed in 1959, it was owned by the Mexican government until being privatized in 1988. It was the country's second-largest bus manufacturer when it was acquired by
Volvo The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...
, in 1998, and renamed


History

MASA was created when the Mexican state-owned investment bank, SOMEX (), acquired the private company, Sheppard Hnos. (Sheppard Brothers), on 10 September 1959.Bushell, Chris (Ed.) (1998). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1998-99'', p. 214. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK):
Jane's Information Group Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informat ...
. .
In 1972 the company built a new factory in Tultitlán, and this facility was expanded in 1980. Somex continued to be a major shareholder in the company, and buses built by MASA often carried "Somex" nameplates on the front. The government sold the company to private investors on 17 October 1988, but the original buyer defaulted on its debt payments. The company had already ceased production before then, and was reported by some transport media to have "gone out of business" during 1988, but it was resold in November 1989 to an industrial group and in 1993 underwent a restructuring. Production continued during this period, as evidenced by the delivery of 30 new MASA trolleybuses to Mexico City's STE in 1991.
Volvo Buses Volvo Buses (Volvo Bus Corporation / formal name: ''Volvo Bussar AB'') (stylized as VOLVO) is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Gothenburg. It is on ...
acquired MASA for US$74 million in September 1998,Jack, Doug (April 2003). "Volvo Bus in Mexico". ''Bus Ride'' magazine. Power Trade Media. ISSN 0192-8902. renaming it and continuing production in the same factory, the then plant in Tultitlán. In addition to the purchase amount, Volvo indicated that it planned to invest an additional $80 million in MASA, over a two-year period, to modify the Tultitlán facility and add automobile production (starting in 1999), giving it access to this
North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
region. At the time of its acquisition by Volvo, MASA's owners were Mexican bus manufacturer
DINA S.A. DINA (''Diesel Nacional, S.A. de C.V'', in English: ''National Diesel'') is a Mexican bus and truck manufacturer based in Ciudad Sahagún, Hidalgo, Mexico. It was created by the federal government of Mexico in 1951 as Diesel Nacional, S.A., and ...
, Brazilian bus-body maker and individuals on MASA's board of directors.


Products

The company manufactured
motorbus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for char ...
es for city and suburban use,
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
es, and intercity buses (i.e.,
coaches Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...
).


Trolleybuses

MASA was the major supplier of new
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
es to the country's only two trolleybus system operators, building more than 700 for the Mexico City trolleybus system, operated by (STE), and 100 for the Guadalajara trolleybus system, then operated by .Murray, Alan (2000). ''World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia''. p 109. Yateley, Hampshire, UK: Trolleybooks. . Trolleybus production began after the company partnered in 1978 with
Toshiba , commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...
, for the latter to supply the electrical
propulsion Propulsion is the generation of force by any combination of pushing or pulling to modify the translational motion of an object, which is typically a rigid body (or an articulated rigid body) but may also concern a fluid. The term is derived f ...
systems for the vehicles.Bushell, Chris; and Stonham, Peter (Eds.) (1987). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 1987'', p. 561. London: Jane's Publishing Company. . The first MASA/Toshiba trolleybus, a
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and software programming. A prototype is generally used to ...
for STE, was completed in 1979.Morgan, Steve (1990). "Mexico Review: Part 2", ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 174 (November–December 1990), pp. 133. ISSN 0266-7452. Trolleybuses built after 1987 were fitted with electrical equipment from other suppliers, including Melco/
Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...
and
Kiepe Kiepe Electric GmbH (formerly Vossloh Kiepe) is a German manufacturer of electrical traction equipment for trams, trolleybuses other road and rail transport vehicles, as well as air-conditioning and heating systems, and conveyor device components. ...
.Aberson, Gert. "Mexico City Update: Part 2". ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 192 (November–December 1993), pp. 145–155.Webb, Mary; and Pattison, Tony (Eds.) (2003). ''Jane's Urban Transport Systems 2003-2004'', pp. 244 and 582. Coulsdon, Surrey (UK):
Jane's Information Group Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informat ...
. .
In 1985 MASA constructed an
articulated An articulated vehicle is a vehicle which has a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply. There are many kinds, from heavy equipment to buses, trams and trains. Steam locomotives were sometim ...
trolleybus for STE, which that transit agency compared with another prototype articulated trolleybus, one built for STE by Moyada () from two existing MASA two-axle trolleybuses; MASA's prototype was an all-new vehicle. After evaluating these two prototypes, STE decided to contract with MASA to fabricate 67 articulated trolleybuses, using the rear halves of 67 existing two-axle trolleybuses in STE's fleet and combining them with new forward body sections to be built by MASA. The assembly was also undertaken by MASA, and these 67 vehicles were delivered to STE in 1986–87. Apart from these 68 articulated vehicles, all other MASA trolleybuses were two-axle vehicles. However, the company also built articulated diesel buses, of which the production quantities are not known. MASA's last order for trolleybuses was one received from STE in December 1996, for 200 trolleybuses. At least 50 of these were delivered in 1997, but delays in STE's obtaining funding resulted in the final 75 not being built—or at least not delivered—until 1999,''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 229 (January–February 2000), p. 19. after the company had been sold.


Gallery

File:Articulado MASA U-18 RTP -Fénix D- -Metrobús- 05.jpg, MASA U18 articulated bus in Mexico City File:DivNorteTrolebusDF.JPG, Trolleybus on Division del Norte Street, southbound on STE's Eje Central route, in Mexico City File:MASA-Kiepe Serie 7000.JPG, A 1991 MASA-Kiepe trolleybus in Mexico City File:MexCity trolleybus 9735.jpg, A 1997-built MASA trolleybus on Mexico City's "Zero-Emissions Corridor" line, along Eje Central, operated by STE File:Guadalajara trolleybus 1188.jpg, A MASA/Toshiba
trolleybus A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or trol ...
in Guadalajara File:MexCityMASA 4705 in1995.jpg, A 1988 MASA trolleybus in Mexico City File:Ruta 100 bus in Tláhuac - 1995.jpg, A MASA diesel bus in Mexico City


See also

*
DINA S.A. DINA (''Diesel Nacional, S.A. de C.V'', in English: ''National Diesel'') is a Mexican bus and truck manufacturer based in Ciudad Sahagún, Hidalgo, Mexico. It was created by the federal government of Mexico in 1951 as Diesel Nacional, S.A., and ...


References


External links


History of Volvo in Mexico
by
Volvo Buses Volvo Buses (Volvo Bus Corporation / formal name: ''Volvo Bussar AB'') (stylized as VOLVO) is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Gothenburg. It is on ...
{{authority control Bus manufacturers of Mexico Defunct bus manufacturers Trolleybus manufacturers Defunct manufacturing companies of Mexico Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1959 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1998 Mexican companies established in 1959 1998 disestablishments in Mexico Government-owned companies of Mexico Electric vehicle manufacturers of Mexico