Plaxton restarting production at Scarborough
Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) is restarting production of Plaxton coaches at its Scarborough factory. Coach building had been temporarily paused at the site after the pandemic caused demand to slow. ADL has continued to sell existing stock of Plaxton coaches.
Demand for Plaxton coaches continues to rebound, which the manufacturer says is driven by interest in the Leopard. The coach is designed for high-capacity duties such as home-to-school transport, private hires and day excursions.
ADL says new Leopard stock will be available from April this year with a mix of 12.2m and 12.8m vehicles built in 2+2 and 2+3 seating configurations for up to 72 passengers. A wheelchair lift and destination displays are fitted in line with PSVAR. All are based on the Volvo B8R chassis, with options of I-Shift or ZF automatic gearboxes.
A limited number of PSVAR-specification Panthers will also be ready at the same time. Also running on Volvo B8R with I-Shift, these 12.8m long coaches have between 53 and 61 seats depending on specification.
“With the range of specifications we will have available from this spring, there’s no business we can’t support” – Simon Wood, ADL’s General Manager New and Used Coach Sales
Simon Wood, ADL’s General Manager New and Used Coach Sales, said: “The coach industry has had a tough time over the last two years, so we are glad to see signs of recovery. The versatility of our Plaxton Leopard gives operators the confidence that they will continue to earn their keep even the type of work changes. With the range of specifications we will have available from this spring, there’s no business we can’t support.”
ADL delivered 89 Plaxton coaches to operators in 2021. The company continues to grow its presence in Ireland, where in addition to 15 Leopards for the Education Authority in Northern Ireland, no fewer than 14 Panthers were delivered to independent coach operators in the Republic of Ireland.