If it wasn’t so ridiculous, it would be fun to think that the acquisition by India’s Ashok Leyland of a 26 per cent stake in Optare might result in the resurrection in Britain of the “Leyland” name or at least the roundel. After all, Leyland bus & truck always had a good reputation, till the near enough enforced marriage in the late 1960s with the ailing British Motor Corporation.
Ashok Leyland is the second biggest bus manufacturer in India. It also produces a ton of trucks. This is the 2516 Super, in looks a kind of cross between a Scammell and a 1960s Leyland Ergonomic Cab
And Optare owes much to the Leyland rationalisation that saw the closure of Charles H Roe bodybuilders and thereafter the phoenix like emergence of Optare. Except the original Optare is, of course, technically East Lancs (Darwen) in disguise, following a reverse take-over.What do we know about Optare?
- In recent years, it’s been the subject of countless rumours, including take-over speculation.
- It’s been through recent troublesome and tiresome changes, including slimming down.
- It hasn’t always been profitable.
- The East Lancs/Optare changes appeared to have no material impact on the business save for the rationalisation out of the East Lancs’ single deck.
- It’s come up with mistakes such as the Solo+ and the Rapta.
- The UK market for buses is no longer strong, even though Optare claims a full order book.
- The Versa and established Solo will be subject to pressure from the midibus Streetlite, especially from Wrightbus customers of conventionally sized buses.
- Solos haven’t always been selling in quite the numbers as they once were.
- Low carbon buses will shape the future. Optare leads this particular field in the mini- and midi-bus sectors.
- A transfer of production to India, perhaps, to take advantage of cheaper labour? The press release talks of seeking to improve competitiveness “through access to Ashok Leyland’s lower-cost supply chain”.
- Enable Ashok Leyland to develop instantly some more modern products, including access to Optare’s low floor, low carbon and eco-drive technologies.
- The emergence of the Optare name beyond England, Europe and North America?
Ashok also produces buses with Leyland heritage names of Viking, Stag and, above, Lynx
2 comments:
"access to Ashok's lower-cost supply chain" probably means that many of Optare's present suppliers are going out of business. Expect layoffs and loss of knowledge. Meanwhile, the questionable logic of sourcing parts half way around the globe will be tested with the corresponding havoc. I work for a company that sources a lot of material in India and although I hope the accountants know what they are doing and that we are benefitting somehow, what I see all the time is delivery deadlines being missed, wrong or faulty parts shipped and the lack of somebody willing to take responsibility or act quickly to fix the problem. I'd like to see how much we're really saving
cirdan05 said...
"I'd like to see how much we're really saving"
The problem is that several of the problems that you have identified do not have a direct monetary cost - or not a cost that can be easily identified and accounted for. Therefore the finance people don't take these factors into account.
Naturally, if a vehicle is off the road because a part is missing, there is a cost, but it is not easy to account for that cost on paper - and, therefore, the true cost of an incorrect part being shipped is never known.
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