Manufacturer of low-floor city cars from California was founded in 1890 in San Francisco. The first bus was assembled at the company in 1932, and before that it produced bodies, trucks, boats, etc. Before that the company produced bodies, trucks, boats and other things. In 1957 the Pacific Bus Division was acquired from Kenworth.
Twenty years later Gillig decided to expand the program of city cars, and began cooperating with the company Neoplan to develop buses in the European style. In 1980 the famous Phantom was presented and became the company’s trademark for many years.
Alternative energy sources were massively implemented on these buses. In 1992, gas-powered cars went into mass production, in 1996 – hybrid. The Advantage low-floor city bus is currently being produced at a rate of about 1,200 a year.
In 1976, Gillig signed an agreement with Neoplan to create a series of buses in the European style, the partnership ended in 1979. In 1980 the production of Gillig Phantom was launched, which marked the transition from producing of special models to general purpose vehicles. In 1996, the company introduced H2000LF – the first low floor bus in the lineup, a year later the second – Gillig Advantage. In 2008, the manufacturer joined Henry Crown, whose parent company is CC Industries, Inc.
The company currently produces diesel and gas-powered, hybrid and electric, medium and large capacity, BRT, city and commuter models, and vintage-style variants.