It is 25 years since the first bus rolled off the production line of Polish manifacturer Solaris on 22 March 1996. A lot has changed at the company since then, said the manufacturer looking back on that quarter-century. Solaris is celebrating its anniversary by stressing that the unusual history of the company, as well as reflecting on the hard work of its employees which helped make 2020 a record year. When that first bus emerged, the company employed just 36 people, and produced 56 low-floor vehicles in a whole year. Today, it provides employment for some 2,700 people both in Poland and abroad.
Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the manufacturer reported higher sales for 2020 than in previous years, thanks in part, it said, to the great deal of effort the whole organisation and its employees had put into continuing its activities and implementing protective measures – actions which had paid off, as it saw a substantial increase in sales and revenues.
In 2020, the firm set a new record for the number of vehicles sold, which stood at 1,560. During the year, Solaris buses and trolleybuses made their way to operators in 19 countries including Germany, Poland, Italy, Estonia, Czech Republic, Israel, Switzerland and Spain. The manufacturer also said that it now held a 53% share of the low-floor bus market in its native Poland.
Solaris said it saw significant growth in sales of buses with low- and zero-emission drives, up from 29% of total sales in 2018, rising to 40% in 2019, and 44% in 2020. Also noteworthy was the delivery of the 20,000th vehicle produced since the company was founded in 1996, which was one of the 130 Urbinos delivered to operator MZA in Warsaw.
“The year 2020 was a time of unprecedented challenges for many companies, including those from the public transport sector. Even though the continent had to deal with the pandemic from the beginning of the year, Solaris made every endeavour to maintain the continuity of its business activities. Owing to the fantastic and responsible attitude of our employees as well as excellent collaboration with our clients and business partners, we finished this year with record sales numbers. We have proved to our clients that they can rely on our company even in the toughest of times. I rest assured that we will overcome this difficult time for the whole industry and we will emerge from this experience stronger,“ said Javier Calleja, CEO of Solaris, summing up the year.
