Orion International

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Orion International

Former type	Subsidiary
Industry	Bus building
Fate	Voluntary closure/market exit
Founded	1975
Defunct	2012 (once existing orders are fulfilled)
Headquarters	350 Hazelhurst Road, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L5J 4T8
Area served	Canada, United States
Key people	Andreas Strecker (CEO)
Products	Transit buses
Owner(s)	Daimler AG
Employees	1,400 (US and Canada)
Website	www.orionbus.com

Orion International, previously Orion Bus Industries and Ontario Bus Industries in Canada and Bus Industries of America in the United States, was a bus manufacturer based in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada and established by the Government of Ontario in 1975. Privatized in 1993, Orion was acquired by Daimler Chrysler (now Daimler AG) in July 2000, and is now part of the group Daimler Buses North America.

On April 25, 2012, Orion International ceased taking orders for new buses, and the Missisauga plant will close once outstanding orders are fulfilled.^[1] The Oriskany plant will remain open for aftermarket support only. ^[2] The closures are part of the closure of Daimler Buses North America; only the imported Setra buses will continue to be marketed although North American distribution will be taken over by Motor Coach Industries (MCI).

Product lineup

This unreferenced section requires citations to ensure verifiability.

Orion has manufactured a number of different models of buses over its 30+ year existence. A list of models is given below; each increasing number is the next generation model.

Most buses today in service are of the Orion IV or later.

Model	Length & Width	Picture	Produced	Fuel type
Orion I	31 ft (9.45 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 37 ft (11.28 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 40 ft (12.19 m) • 96 in (2.44 m)		1977–1993	Diesel Compressed natural gas
Orion II	21.92 ft (6.68 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 25.92 ft (7.90 m) • 96 in (2.44 m)[citation needed]		1983–2003[citation needed]
Orion III Orion-Ikarus Z86 (bodies and chassis made by Ikarus to form the Ikarus 286 model, marketed as the Orion-Ikarus)[3]	60 ft (18.29 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		1986–1989	Diesel
Orion IV	Tractor: 37.5 ft (11.43 m) • 98.75 in (2.51 m) Trailer: 35.5 ft (10.82 m) • 98.75 in (2.51 m) [citation needed]		1985–1989[citation needed]	Liquefied petroleum gas
Orion V	32 ft (9.75 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 40 ft (12.19 m) • 96 in (2.44 m), 40 ft (12.19 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		1989–2009	Diesel Compressed natural gas
Orion VI	40 ft (12.19 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		1995–2004	Diesel Compressed natural gas Diesel-electric
Orion VII (First Generation)	32.5 ft (9.91 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 40.5 ft (12.34 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		2001–2007
Orion VII (Next Generation)	32.5 ft (9.91 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 40.5 ft (12.34 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		2007–2011
Orion VII (Next Generation)	32.5 ft (9.91 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 35 ft (10.67 m) • 102 in (2.59 m), 40.5 ft (12.34 m) • 102 in (2.59 m)		2010-2012

Assembly plants

• Orion buses are initially assembled in the Mississauga plant and final assembly and testing is done in Oriskany, New York.^{[citation needed]}
• Mississauga - Chassis and body^{[citation needed]}
• Oriskany - Seating, engine, HVAC, Final assembly and Testing^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Crown-Ikarus 286, similar to the Orion-Ikarus III bus

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Orion International

• Orion Bus official homepage
• Orion Buses
• Educated » Hybrid Sounds
• Crown Ikarus 286

Hybrid buses

• Hybrid buses.
• BAE HybriDrivePropulsion OverviewOrion VII Hybrid -Product InformationPDF (942 KB)