# Setra

Setra is a German bus brand of EvoBus GmbH, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG.
The name "Setra" comes from "selbsttragend" (self-supporting). This refers to the integral nature of the construction of the vehicles back in the 1950s when competitor vehicles still featured a separate chassis and body (often manufactured by separate companies). It is also possible that, with an eye to export markets, the company was mindful that for non-German speakers, the name "Kässbohrer" is difficult to pronounce. Until 1995 the firm operated under the name Karl Kässbohrer Fahrzeugwerke GmbH, but in that year economic difficulties enforced its sale to Daimler-Benz AG (between 1998 and 2008 known, especially in the United States, by the name of its holding company Daimler Chrysler). Since 1995, Setra has been a brand of the Daimler subsidiary, EvoBus GmbH.
The North American distribution for Setra by Daimler was set to be partnered and taken over by Motor Coach Industries on April 25, 2012, as Daimler restructured its North American bus operations in 2013; this agreement lasted until the end of 2017 when the REV Group assumed distribution responsibilities. Daimler has again self-distributed Setra coaches in North America since January 2020, through its new subsidiary, Daimler Coaches North America, LLC, with service support from Daimler Truck North America.

## History

The first Setra coach, the Type S8, so called because it contained eight rows of seats, was introduced in April 1951 at the French Internationale Automobile-vouz. It featured a self-supporting body designed by Otto Kässbohrer, a concept now featured in most modern coaches and buses. Equally unusual at the time was the decision to locate the engine behind the rear axle; the rear-mounted engine configuration is another Setra innovation which subsequently became mainstream. It simplified the production process and created a range of passenger-focused possibilities regarding the floor level in the passenger and driver/crew sections, and for high-floor layouts, flexible use of the underfloor area.

## Models

The maximum number of seat rows can be identified by the type designation. In the first Setra series, the number of seats was alone. In the second series (series 100), a 0 or 5 was affixed, and one of the numbers preceded in each of the following series (series 200, 300, and 400). Example: S 8 (= 8 seat rows), S 140 (= 14 seat rows), S 215 (= 15 seat rows), S 417 (= 17 seat rows), or S 319 UL (= 19 seat rows). The seats are reduced by comforter buildings or a certain star classification; The type designation is retained. Starting from the series 200, additions after the number indicated the equipment: current (series 400/500) are H for high-floor construction (no wheel arches in the passenger compartment), HD for high floor, HDH for an extra-high floor, DT for double-deck touring bus, MD for mid-height floor (a spinoff of the GT series), UL for interurban commuter buses and NF for low-floor buses. In the past, the Grand Tourisme (GT), HDS for double-deck, SL for city buses, and NR (low-floor Rational) were used for the first highway low-floor (200 series). Only a few types were given different designations, for example, the S 250 Special (a modified S 215 HD which was also offered as an entry-level model after the introduction of the 300 series) and the S 300 NC (a former low-floor city bus as a predecessor of the Mercedes-Benz Citaro).
The different models of the 200 series also bore the name designations with name suffixes, whereby the designation International (with the letter I appended to the type designation) for travel and combi-buses with simplified heating/ventilation was used. The term Communal and Regional were used for regular services, and Rational for travel combination models. The short-term offered club bus model based on the S 210 H deviated from the name Real. Air-conditioned high-floor buses were called Optimal, the double-deck S 216 HDS Royal and the double-deck S 228 DT Imperial. The export version of the 215 HDH for the US market (later on, the HDH model for the local market was based) was called Transcontinental. Some of these designations still existed with the introduction of the 300 series, as for the S 328 DT, at the latest with the introduction of the 400 series, these name additions with the division into MultiClass, ComfortClass and TopClass were abandoned. Additionally, the name Business has been produced in Turkey since 2013, with simpler equipment.

### Current

| | -07 | -11/-12 | -15 | -16 | -17/-18 | -19 | -31 |
| MultiClass 400 | | S 412 UL | S 415 H S 415 UL S 415 UL business S 415 LE business | S 416 H S 416 UL S 416 UL business S 416 LE business | S 417 UL S 417 UL business S 418 LE business | S 419 UL |
| ComfortClass 400 | S 407 CC (North America) | | | | | | |
| TopClass 400 | | | | | S 417 TC (North America) | | S 431 DT |
| ComfortClass 500 | | S 511 HD | S 515 HD S 515 MD | S 516 HD S 516 HD/2 S 516 MD | S 517 HD | S 519 HD |
| TopClass 500 | | | S 515 HDH | S 516 HDH | S 517 HDH | | S 531 DT |

### Historic

| -06/-07 | -08 | -09 | -10 | -11 | -12 | -13 | -14 | -15 | -16 | -17/-18 | -19/-20 | -21 | -28 |
| First generation (1951) ||||||||||||||
| S6 S7 | S8 | S9 | S10 | S11 | S12 | | S14 | S15 | | | | | |
| Second generation (1967) - Setra S100 ||||||||||||||
| | S80 | | S110 | | S120 | S130S | S140ES | S150 | | SG180M SG180U SG180UL SG180S | | | |
| Third generation (1976) - Setra S 200 ||||||||||||||
| | S208H S208HM S208HMU S208HU | S209H S209HM S209HMU S209HU | S210H S210HD S210HI S210HM S210HMU S210HU | S211H S211HD S211HDI S211HDU S211HI S211HM S211HMU S211HU | S212H S212HM S212HMU S212HU | S213H S213HD S213HDU S213HI S213HM S213HMA S213HMI S213HMU S213HR S213HRI-GT S213HUL S213UL | S214H S214HD S214HDI S214HDU | S215H S215HD S215HDH S215HDI S215HDS S215HDU S215HI S215HM S215HMI S215HMU S215HR S215HRI-GT S215HU S215HUL S215NR S215RL S215SL S215UL S250 Special | S216HDS S216HDSI | S217HDH | SG219SL SG220HUL | S221HDS SG221UL | S228DT S228DTI |
| Fourth generation (1991) - Setra S 300 ||||||||||||||
| S300NC | | S309HD | | | S312HD | S313UL S313UL-GT | | S315GT S315GT-HD S315H S315HD S315HDH/2 S315HDH/3 S315NF S315UL S315UL-GT | S316HDS S316UL | S317GT-HD S317HDH S317UL S317UL-GT | S319NF S319UL S319GT-HD | SG321UL | S328DT |
| Fifth generation (2001) - Setra S 400 MultiClass/ComfortClass/TopClass ||||||||||||||
| | | | | S411HD TopClass | | | | S415NF MultiClass S415GT ComfortClass S415GT-HD S415HD S415HDH | S416NF S416GT S416GT-HD S416GT-HD/2 S416HDH | S417GT-HD S417HDH | S419GT-HD | | |
| -06/-07 | -08 | -09 | -10 | -11 | -12 | -13 | -14 | -15 | -16 | -17/-18 | -19/-20 | -21 | -28 |
Suffixes :
| DT | Doppelstock-Touristikbus | double-deck touring bus |
| HD | Hochdecker | high floor |
| HDH | Hochdecker high | extra-high floor |
| HDS | Superhochdecker | super-high floor (double-deck) |
| HR | Hochdecker Regional | high floor commuter |
| MD | Mitteldecker | mid(-height) floor |
| NR | Niederflur Rational | sloped (low) floor |
| UL | Überland | interurban |

## Major incidents

* 2018 Kazakhstan bus fire – On January 18, 2018, a fire occurred in the passenger compartment of a 1989 Setra bus in Kazakhstan, resulting in 52 deaths. The fire was due to an open-flame cooker being used on board the vehicle, adjacent to fuel canisters being kept in the passenger compartment.

## Gallery

* 1951 Setra S8 French
* Setra S6 c. 1955
* 1959 Setra S9
* Setra S110H coach from 1972, Germany
* Setra S215HR (R = Regional)
* Setra S215HD (HD = High Deck) 1981
* Kässbohrer Setra S215UL (Überland = interurban) German Police
* Setra S 315 GT-HD
* Setra S 315 UL
* Setra S316 HDS
* Setra S 415 GT
* Setra S 415 HD
* Setra S 417 HDH
* Setra S 431 DT
* Setra S 515 LE