Carrier in receivership

Carrier, the bodybuilding operation of the French Fast Concept Car group, has been placed into receivership until 20 January 2014. The company’s factory is located in Alencon in the Orne, France. According to press reports, the company has accumulated €7m in losses over two years. It produces an average of 400 buses a year, according to its website and has already survived two bankruptcies in its history. CEO of Carrier, Sophie du Merle, has been quoted in a newspaper expressing her hope that suppliers will not abandon them. The trade unions representing the manufacturer have called on shareholder, Fast Concept Car, to help turn the business around.

The company attempted to enter the UK market where, after first running its own sales team, it was represented by the associated Moseley Group of companies. The Starter model was offered with either 2+2 or 3+2 seating, with or without an ingenious central lift arrangement, on the MAN A91 chassis but sales were relatively limited.

The same group also has a separate, very large bus and coach operating business in France which concentrates on the school contract sector. It was for this that the original Fast vehicles were developed. This operating concern is understood to be unaffected by the difficulties at the manufacturing side, which has been hit by falling unit sales as a result of strong competition.