The bus was available in both transit (two-door) and suburban (single front door) configurations;[1] in addition, OBI used the Orion I to produce an ambulance and a motorhome.

[3]: 4–158  The 30-foot Orion I filled the "medium" transit bus segment left vacant by the withdrawal of the 30-foot GM New Look (discontinued in 1974) and Flxible New Look buses (discontinued in 1976); by 1982, TMC (a licensee of the Orion I design) was dominating the U.S. market for medium transit buses, alongside Blue Bird Corporation's City Bird.

For the US market, to meet 'Buy America' requirements for federally subsidized transit vehicles, the Orion I was initially produced under license before OBI incorporated the wholly owned subsidiary Bus Industries of America (BIA) in 1981 to assemble the Orion I in Oriskany, New York.

Internally, OBI designated the bus model as 01.5xx, with xx denoting a combination of vehicle length and door configuration.

[10]: 26  OBI, as BIA, subsequently assembled Orion I buses for the United States transit market in Oriskany, New York, starting production in June 1982.