Solaris is one of the few manufacturers in the automotive industry that has recorded sales growth over the last two years. In 2009, the company sold 1,114 vehicles, and last year it improved this record, reaching a level of 1,120 units.
Solaris in Poland
For another consecutive year, Solaris has taken the position of the domestic leader in the bus market. By delivering a total of 407 buses and trolleybuses to domestic customers, the company achieved a total market share of 36.6%. Considering only the segment of low-floor and low-entry city buses, this share increases to 55.6%. Last year, the largest number of Solaris buses in Poland were delivered to Warsaw (58), Białystok (48), and Poznań (28). Carriers from Konin, Leszno, Łomianki, Łowicz, Mielec, Świnoujście, and Toruń joined the company’s list of clients. At the end of last year, the total number of Solaris brand buses in Poland reached 3,000 units, which were delivered to a total of 103 public transport companies. Furthermore, in 2010, with the InterUrbino model, the company began sales in the intercity bus segment.
Export sales
The reputation of Solaris brand vehicles in foreign markets is reflected in sales results. Last year, 713 vehicles were exported, with the largest number going to Sweden (224 buses). Solaris has an extremely strong position in the German market, where it has held third place for several years with a 10% share in the city bus segment. This year, 197 vehicles were delivered to German customers, including the first Solaris Trollino trolleybuses for the city of Eberswalde. Alongside strengthening its position in existing export markets, in 2010 Solaris acquired clients from countries where it had not been present before – Bulgaria and Spain. In the final days of last year, the manufacturer near Poznań also won a tender for the supply of six Solaris Urbino 12 CNG buses for the town of Novi Sad in Serbia. Until now, the most distant place from Poland where Solaris buses operated was Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Since the autumn of last year, this has changed. Six Solaris Urbino buses joined the fleet of a carrier from Reunion Island, located in the Indian Ocean.
Product premieres in 2010
Last year, in addition to the aforementioned buses for the Scandinavian market, Solaris Bus & Coach S.A. presented two new solutions in the field of hybrid vehicles. The first is the Solaris Urbino 18 with a serial hybrid system, constructed in cooperation with the German company Vossloh Kiepe. It is currently the most innovative system, combining the advantages of batteries, supercapacitors, and a plug-in connector. Thanks to this, the vehicle can cover a certain distance in the so-called “zero emission” mode, i.e., only on an electric motor. The second hybrid novelty is the Solaris Urbino 18 with a parallel hybrid system from Voith. Both buses, which are currently in the testing phase, will be included in the offer of the Poznań-based manufacturer starting next year.
Solaris brand trams
Last year, Solaris began serial production of trams. Tramino are built in two locations. The first is a hall located in Środa Wlkp., where the so-called tram bodies, i.e., the steel part of the tram structure, are built. Meanwhile, the final assembly of the remaining components takes place in a hall located in Poznań. The factory producing the steel structures for the trams obtained ISO 3834-2 and PN-EN 15085 certificates from the German certification company TÜV SÜD. The highest quality materials and machines are used for the production of Solaris Tramino trams. One of them is the “TrueLaser Cell 7040 laser 3D”, a laser cutting and welding machine from TRUMPF, which is the first device of this type in Poland. At the moment, 45 Solaris Tramino trams are in production for MPK in Poznań. The first units will be handed over to the client in the middle of this year.
Plans for 2011
Exactly on March 22 of this year, fifteen years will have passed since the launch of production at the factory in Bolechowo. At that time, the company employed 36 people. Today, the company employs over 2,000 people in Poland and across Europe, and Solaris has become one of the leading manufacturers of public transport vehicles on our continent. Known for its innovative products, the company will also present a premiere vehicle in its anniversary year. It will be an electric-powered bus, which will be presented in the middle of this year.