(04 Sep 2019, 2:01 pm)RBZ 5459 wrote

Pretty sure they are always in financial difficulty, it amazes me they are still kicking around, then someone from the Middle East or New Zealand wants a big order and keeps them going for yet another year! 

But yes - believe so. Stagecoach Carlisle have had the heads up with their Solos which require (too) regular Optare warranty work and parts. Parts haven't been a great issue, but they have had a painful process of having the last of their Solos going down to Leeds for warranty work on emergency doors. On the whole, parts have been agro for anyone with an Optare. Competing against the E200MMC range, for example, which is much more modern in terms of looks and passenger experience, more maneuverable and part compatibility with other MMC range, it's no wonder Optare's books aren't full.

They really haven't got much to offer compared to the other 'big two' - unless its something the size of baby Solo or electric bus. Apart from that, which isn't exactly flying off the shelves, they have got left behind. The likes of start-stop technology I'm sure still isn't available on any of their stock, which is available on Wright and ADL products - so that's pretty much bodged any London orders they've been aiming at which is now a TfL requirement IIRC.

And they have pumped serious cash into development of their decker with not much to show for it. Looking at the Solo, it is basically the same 20 year old frame design behind the panels - just with different fibreglass and panels on. It's astonishing, quite sad really as they were revolutionary and at the front of it all back in the 90s, their attempts today just don't materialise into anything, especially the UK market.

If you think back to each of the struggles, mergers, buyouts and whatever else they have had since the initial boom of the late 80's/early 90's, it amazes me to think they're still going.

Maybe Ashok as a whole are struggling. Maybe it is just this division.

It doesn't seem long since they increased their ownership of Optare, which would seem strange if the division was struggling.

Edit: financial express.com/ashok-leyland-ups-shareholding-in-optare-to-99-08-to-help-arm-slash-debt-burden/1361615