The Caetano Levante is a coach body built by

Salvador Caetano Grupo Salvador Caetano, SGPS, SA or simply Salvador Caetano is a Portuguese holding based in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal that controls some enterprises on vehicle assembly, components and distribution business. It had a turnover of €1.6 billi ...

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquarte ...

OC 500 RF,

Scania K EB The Scania K series is a series of chassis in Scania's city bus and coach range with longitudinally, straight-up mounted engine at the rear, replacing the K- ( K94, K114, K124) and L-type ( L94) chassis of the 4 series. The K series was fi ...

Volvo B8R The Volvo B8R is a 7.7-litre engined coach and intercity bus chassis manufactured by Volvo since 2013 for Euro VI markets. It was designed as a replacement for the B7R and the B9R. In 2017, Euro III and V versions were launched worldwide with ...

, Volvo B9R,

Volvo B11R The Volvo B11R is a 10.8-litre engined coach chassis available as both two- and tri-axle from Volvo since 2011. It was introduced as the second of the Volvo BXXR series, replacing the rest of the B12B range in 2011, and later its fellow BXXR pl ...

, Volvo B12B and Volvo B13R chassis, exclusively for

National Express National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...

in the United Kingdom. It was specifically designed to comply with the

Disability Discrimination Act 2005 The Disability Discrimination Act 2005 (c 13) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 20 - Short title, interpretation, commencement and extent The following orders have been made under section 20(3):The Disability Discrimina ...

. Originally only available on the Volvo B12B chassis, the Levante enabled both able-bodied and wheelchair passengers to enter the vehicle via the front door, using a combination of a front-mounted lift and two single pedestal-mounted seats in place of the traditional double at the front nearside of the passenger area. The Levante is used by most National Express contractors, although some contractors continued purchasing

Plaxton Elite The Plaxton Elite is a coach body unveiled at the Euro Bus Expo at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham in November 2008 by the British bus and coach manufacturer Plaxton. It is primarily targeted at the premium touring market. It went in ...

s. This model is similar to a Portuguese market model, Caetano Winner, which was presented in 2004 and was born from a collaboration with

Evobus EvoBus GmbH is a German bus and coach manufacturer headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany and a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG. Its products go to market under the brands Setra or Mercedes-Benz. History In 1995, the bus division of ...

with the first units being equipped with

OC500 chassis, but other manufacturers' chassis can be applied. Levante bodies which are not built new for National Express work are known as CT650s.

Levante III

In September 2017, the Levante III was launched with prototypes built for National Express contractors

Edwards Coaches Edwards Coaches is a family-owned coach company based in Llantrisant, near Pontypridd in South Wales. History In 1925 Edwards Coaches was founded by George Edwards. Over recent years, the company has expanded by acquiring several smaller loca ...

on a Volvo B11R and

Skills Coaches Nottingham is the seventh largest conurbation in the United Kingdom. Despite this, the city had a poor transport system in the 1980s. The government has in the early twenty-first century invested heavily in the transport network of Nottingham, ...

on a Scania. An upgraded variant named the Levante IIIA is currently being trialled by National Express. Built on a new Scania 'Step E' chassis suitable for a potential

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

drivetrain and featuring a new front end module and suspension, the Levante IIIA is equipped with camera mirrors replacing the traditional mirror arms, warning sensors for road and blindspot hazards, and a new cab area layout. Two Levante IIIAs are to be operated on trial by contractors Clarkes of London and

Bruce's Coaches Bruce's Coaches is a coach tour operator based in Salsburgh, Scotland. History Bruce's Coaches was founded in August 1982 by John Bruce. After operating as a Scottish Citylink subcontractor, in 1988 a service to London commenced under the Lond ...

before the type is rolled out across the National Express coaching fleet from spring 2023.

References

External links

*{{commons category-inline
Product description from Caetano
Coaches (bus) Vehicles introduced in 2006