Wrightbus

[gilesbus1]

RE: Wrightbus

(07/12/2012 01:53)P528LND Wrote:  

(06/12/2012 17:09)Wright Eclipse Wrote:  

(06/12/2012 15:04)gilesbus1 Wrote:  One of the things though that I note with ADL is that older Enviro400's where not well finished and tended to rattle badly, therefore maybe putting off customers (operators that is, not bus travellers of course), but when i've recently been on brand new E400H's there has been no rattles at all and the build quality has been a hell of a lot better along with the ride quality as well, by comparison teh Wrightbus products have appeared to have more rattles than earlier ones did, but however they are not major unlike the early ADL Enviro400 deckers where I thought the upper deck front screen was coming in on me it rattled that much and you could also literally see the vibration.

I also suspect perhaps that the lack of a Scania option certainly on deckers for Wrightbus isn't helping - that I suspecvt might encourage more orders from Hong Kong and GoAhead and maybe even FirstGroup although when previously FirstGRoup approached them to ask could they body N94UD's the weight distribution between the chassis and body wasn;t right and thus the order was cancelled in 2005 I believe. It would have been rumoured, though not confirmed 50 to First Manchester and a further 50 for First Edinburgh, the problem was to do it the lower deck seating capacity would have been as low as about 17 seats, far too low to recoup the value required and far too few seats on the lower deck, but presumably the new chassius that ADL are bodying might allow that option on Wrightbus as well.

The other question would be why have Wrightbus only offered its low floor Gemini to Arriva so far on semi VDL/Wrightbus integral chassis, and why have these really not sold outside Arriva??? except for a few full height Hybrids?

The other question would be why not offrer the Volvo as a low height as well, then maybe rural orders might sweep in?

I Dont think there is a low-Height B9TL

I Dont think Wright are in danger,one operater that hasnt been mentioned is National Express,that is currently buying Eclipse`s in Big Numbers,the Pulser 2 Is selling in big numbers to Arriva.Plus more & more smaller operaters are buying dealerstock Eclipse 2 (Mainly for Rurel Work).The Gemini 2 Is selling big in london (Go Ahead,Firstbus,Metroline & Arriva) Plus Rotala seems to have started buying New Geminis & Eclipses.The only thing that i can see hitting Wright is if the MCV Bodied Volvo B7RLE & VDL SB200 Sell in big numbers but we dont know that untill 2013

MCV never really picked up, and the facelifted model doesn't look substantially different. I don't see MCV as a threat to Wrightbus in any way shape or form.

The 'lack of Wright-bodied Scania Deckers' having an affect on the wellbeing of the company is rubbish in my opinion. I've not seen Wright Solars selling in the masses and I also seem to recall that First chose Volvo over Scania when it came to the Eclipse/Solar Fusion battle, with one solitary Scania Fusion existing within the First Group, that being 2201BY or 10017, X401CSG. I highly doubt that First/Scania Wright Decker theory and can clearly see that being a rumour, i.e. someone told you about it and you believed it to be true; First are easily fond on Volvo deckers and if they were that interested in the Scania chassis we'd have seen more within the group. Noticably there were some bought, however none saw Manchester and only a small number saw Edinburgh. Obviously they didn't really have that much demand for the bus.

Concluding my notes on the Scania subject, they never really were exquisitely popular and Wrightbus know that.

As has previously been stated, Wright have orders from Hong Kong, London, National Express and Arriva, and are doing extremely well for themselves. I do agree that maybe they should consider building Hybrid versions of their single deckers to keep in the market - even if this is just the Streetlite. Keep in mind that the Streetlite comes in lengths from below 9 metres right up to 11 and a half - it's an excellent multipurpose bus, however something we've seen too much of already (Enviro 200, Solo SR/Versa).

I think it would be interesting to see Wright bodied ADL E20D/E20H/E30D/E40D/E40H, though it would never happen as the chassis's are lightweight - not something I've seen Wrightbus work with previously.

The situation with the Scania Deckers was also mentioned at the time in Buses Magazine and also in several other places and through other industry officials.

The situation as to why they wheren't done was simply because the chassis weight wsa too heavy for the body, that is why there is a batch of East Lancs OmniDekka's that are not standard within FirstGroup at First Edinburgh as they where taken instead along withn the batch of Volvo B7TL's with Wright Gemini bodies which originally went into Dalkeith.

Wrightbus also at the time questioned how East Lancs had managed to get there body on the OmniDekka and they couldn't get the Gemini on it within weight limits.

Yes First switched to Volvo but note that it was post 2005 when more or less everything that was a large vehicle started being Volvo with no Scania's on the order books.

The Scania N230UD and N270UD are different chassis and the Gemini body is now lighter, and no doubt its new B5TL appliaction will be lighter still so maybe its something that can be re-examined.

In terms of ADL and Wrightbus. Wrightbus fell out with Dennis after the fiasco with the Berkhof bodied Lances for Canterbury Park & Ride that Stagecoach East Kent operated, as Wrightbus had the order for them but then Dennis switched it to Berkhof which angered Wrightbus, after that appart from a few batches of Wright Crusader bodied Dart SLF's upto 1997/8 no other Dennis products or ADLs' have been bodied and the relationship between the two is cold.