The DINA Viaggio was one of the two coach bodies that DINA obtained through its 1992 agreement with Marcopolo of Brazil. It was the sister of the Paradiso in the range, and both were built in Mexico for domestic sale and export.
DINA Viaggio at a glance
| Maker | DINA (Diesel Nacional), Ciudad Sahagún, Hidalgo |
|---|---|
| Partner | Marcopolo S.A., Brazil |
| Agreement signed | 1992 |
| Term | ten years |
| Sister model | Marcopolo Paradiso |
| Market | Mexico |
| Exports | from 1993 to Central and South America |
| Supply form | semi-knocked-down bodies and technology |
| Body type | long-distance coach |
The Viaggio has no article of its own; it is described in the English and Spanish Wikipedia articles on DINA, and this page is based on that company history (one source).
History of the DINA Viaggio
DINA’s own bus production could not keep up with orders at the start of the 1990s, and the company looked abroad for help. Its answer was a commercial and technological agreement with Marcopolo, signed in 1992. Marcopolo was at that time the leader in bus production and sales in South America, and it agreed to deliver buses in semi-knocked-down form along with the knowledge needed to assemble them.
The agreement covered two Marcopolo bodies for the Mexican market, the Paradiso and the Viaggio, and ran for ten years. The Viaggio thus joined the DINA range as a Brazilian-designed coach built in Hidalgo. It was a way for the maker to offer a second coach body alongside its own designs while the Sahagún plant was working at full capacity.
From 1993 the Mexican-built Viaggio and Paradiso were exported to Central and South America. The partnership also fitted the wider expansion of DINA in the decade: the company opened an assembly plant in Mercedes, Argentina, in 1997, and its Argentine subsidiary later built the HTQ range of chassis and trucks.
Design and features
- Marcopolo design: the Viaggio body came from the Brazilian coach builder.
- Local assembly: bodies arrived in semi-knocked-down form and were completed in Mexico.
- Two-model range: the Viaggio was sold alongside the Paradiso under the same agreement.
- Export sales: Mexican-built coaches reached Central and South America from 1993.
DINA Viaggio versions
- DINA Viaggio: the coach model described here.
- DINA Paradiso: the sister body from the same Marcopolo agreement.
- Export version: coaches supplied to Central and South American operators from 1993.
The Viaggio was sold alongside the DINA Paradiso, and DINA’s own earlier coach is covered in the DINA Avante article. More vehicles are in the DINA collection.
Video: DINA Viaggio coach
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- DINA S.A., English Wikipedia: Marcopolo agreement, models, exports
- Diesel Nacional, Spanish Wikipedia: dates, assembly terms, Argentina plant
