Next stop - the subcontinent?

Solaris Bus & Coach has revealed that it is considering entering the Indian market. "It is a very large market with a cheap labor force," the company's spokesperson Mateusz Figaszewski said.

Figaszewski disclosed that the company is currently holding talks with an Indian company which could result in Solaris opening a production plant in the subcontinent. However, he didn't want to reveal any details of the project, saying only that the negotiations are in their initial stages. Figaszewski also hinted that Solaris would be producing buses in India for the Indian market.

It is estimated that tens of thousands of buses are sold in India every year. By comparison, 1,288 buses were sold in Poland in 2006, which still represented a 21.5-percent year-on-year increase.

While India could be a future step in the bus producer's global expansion, the firm is already achieving success in new markets. At the beginning of April, it won a tender to supply 225 buses to the Dubai Roads & Transport Authority. The contract will be worth around E112 (zł.427) million and the buses will start being delivered in November.

The president of Solaris, Krzysztof Olszewski, described entering the Middle East as "a new stage in the functioning of our company." He added that the Dubai deal could be just the beginning of the company's activities in the region. "This contract will certainly help us enter the markets of the surrounding countries," he said.