Optare Plc, a UK-based bus manufacturer in which Ashok Leyland Ltd. holds a 75% stake, will exit the small luxury coach segment and enter the small bus segment this year.
Optare’s first small bus, Bonito, which can accommodate as many as 16 passengers, will start selling in the UK in June, and may be exported to other European markets later, the company said in a statement.
“We have been looking at a number of routes to enter the important small bus/accessible vehicle market and are convinced that the fully developed Bonito is the right answer,” Glenn Saint, Optare’s chief operating officer, said in the statement on the company’s website.
Simultaneously, Optare is looking to hive off its Mercedes-based small luxury coach brands, the Soroco and Toro, which have been manufactured for it by Spanish coachbuilder Ferqui, S.L.
“I am pleased to say that we are in negotiations with a number of parties which may lead to the two current models, the Soroco and Toro, continuing to be available in the UK, though outside the Optare brand,” Saint said.
The moves are part of a comprehensive product portfolio review, Saint said. The company came into Ashok Leyland’s fold in January when India’s second-largest commercial vehicle maker took control of Optare in return for helping generate working capital for the cash-strapped British bus-maker. Ashok Leyland already had a 26% stake in Optare, acquired in 2010.
The flagship company of the Hinduja Group, which hopes to enter the ranks of the top five bus manufacturers globally with the help of the Optare stake purchase, introduced an Optare-manufactured low-floor bus, the Solo SR, for the Indian market at the Delhi Auto Expo in January.
Optare’s first small bus, Bonito, which can accommodate as many as 16 passengers, will start selling in the UK in June, and may be exported to other European markets later, the company said in a statement.
“We have been looking at a number of routes to enter the important small bus/accessible vehicle market and are convinced that the fully developed Bonito is the right answer,” Glenn Saint, Optare’s chief operating officer, said in the statement on the company’s website.
Simultaneously, Optare is looking to hive off its Mercedes-based small luxury coach brands, the Soroco and Toro, which have been manufactured for it by Spanish coachbuilder Ferqui, S.L.
“I am pleased to say that we are in negotiations with a number of parties which may lead to the two current models, the Soroco and Toro, continuing to be available in the UK, though outside the Optare brand,” Saint said.
The moves are part of a comprehensive product portfolio review, Saint said. The company came into Ashok Leyland’s fold in January when India’s second-largest commercial vehicle maker took control of Optare in return for helping generate working capital for the cash-strapped British bus-maker. Ashok Leyland already had a 26% stake in Optare, acquired in 2010.
The flagship company of the Hinduja Group, which hopes to enter the ranks of the top five bus manufacturers globally with the help of the Optare stake purchase, introduced an Optare-manufactured low-floor bus, the Solo SR, for the Indian market at the Delhi Auto Expo in January.
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