CAF will take over Solaris

Andres Arizkorreta, CEO of CAF, wants to set the rail vehicle provider on an additional track – the road. To do this, the Spaniards are planning to take over the Polish bus manufacturer Solaris: “Together with Solaris, we will create a leading provider of urban mobility solutions beyond rail vehicles, especially in the e-mobility segment,” he explains. The acquisition of the Polish bus manufacturer is intended to expand the company's product range “in electromobility and multimodal door-to-door solutions.”

CAF is particularly interested in the wide range of drives from the Poles, including hybrid, trolleybuses, battery-electric buses, and experience in fuel cell technology. In addition, the Spaniards are targeting new markets. The main countries where Solaris, with its 2300 employees, operates are Poland, Germany, Italy, Scandinavia, and the Baltics. In 2017, the company delivered 1,397 buses, including conventional models (diesel and CNG) and a growing number of electric vehicles. The transaction aims to position the CAF Group as one of the leading providers in the urban segment in Europe.

The Spaniards also hope for synergies in the tram business and hope to expand their presence into Central and Eastern Europe. With this, CAF continues its strategic growth plan for 2017-2020 to be able to offer further technologies and integrated transport solutions for an even broader customer portfolio.

What does that mean?

With the Solaris acquisition, CAF expands its portfolio from rail to road vehicles and hopes to gain access to new markets. The Spaniards are particularly focused on the e-mobility sector for buses and markets where they have not been present until now.