Warsaw (Puls Biznesu) – Solbus, the Polish bus producer from Solec Kujawski, sold only 160 buses last year although it planned to sell 200 of them. The company representatives believe that it was due to high fuel prices caused that many transport companies shifter buying new fleet. Besides, the Polish bus producer estimates that it would have sold 30 buses more hadn’t it been of the sales of used buses from Bundeswehr.
The company is going to stop production of licensed Czech SOR buses and focus on its own vehicles. At the breakthrough of Mach and April, series production of city bus will be launched. Then, the company will introduce an intercity bus. The production of its own buses should allow the company to find new clients. License agreements did not allow for this. Solbus is closely watching the Scandinavian, Italian and German markets.
Solbus is doing well in Poland. I believe they will follow the path of Solaris, the company which proved that an independent producer may be successful in international markets, Aleksander Kierecki from JMK Bus Market Analyses commented.
In 2005, Solbus had sales of PLN 70m.