The Optare Group, Britain’s leading independent bus maker, is to be the first UK producer to offer a revolutionary new hybrid transmission system which offers lower emissions, higher fuel efficiency, strong reliability and ease of packaging. The GM Allison Hybrid System is being selected by a number of European bus makers following excellent operational experience in North America.

The advanced two-mode Allison system is a unique parallel hybrid design combining power from a diesel engine with electric power from an energy storage system. It offers bus manufacturers the opportunity to cut emissions, increase fuel economy and improve vehicle performance.

Allison’s extensive experience, gained from producing over 500 diesel-electric hybrid bus systems for the United States and Canada, combined with design and operating advantages, has led Optare to select the GM Allison Hybrid System for its Tempo model which will be available for delivery later in 2007.

“We’ve chosen this new technology from Allison since it offers our customers real benefits and is fully proven in intensive bus usage across the Atlantic. Its packaging makes it a simple task to install on our vehicles, which are designed with removable power packs”, says Glenn Saint, Optare’s Group Technical Director.

“This technology is in service now, its fully reliable and Optare is thus able to provide the UK bus operating industry with a viable means of combating climate change and saving running costs into the bargain”, said Glenn Saint.

The ability to easily package the Allison system, similar in size to a conventional automatic transmission, makes the installation simple and less costly for Optare. “The ability to fit it into our existing buses without having to make any significant design alterations to accommodate it was another key factor,” says Glenn Saint.

For Allison, Optare’s adoption of the system following its selection by European markers such as Solaris represents a further growth for the technology in Europe. “The environmental benefits of the GM Allison Hybrid system are significant,” says Robert M. Clark III, Allison’s Managing Director for Europe, Middle East, Africa, India and Latin America. “With the fuel efficiency, quiet operation, performance, and reliability benefits our two-mode parallel hybrid system offers, we anticipate strong European market acceptance of this technology.”

For further information please contact:
Martin Hayes, Communications Advisor, +44 (0) 207 494 8050