Volvo Buses
Volvo Buses (Volvo Bus Corporation / formal name: Volvo Bussar AB) (stylized as VOLVO) is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Gothenburg.
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Subsidiary of the Volvo Group | |
Industry | Manufacturing |
Predecessor | MASA |
Founded | 1968 |
Headquarters | Gothenburg, Sweden |
Areas served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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Brands | |
Revenue | |
Number of employees | 7,353 (2016)[1] |
Parent | Volvo |
Website | volvobuses |
It is the world's largest bus manufacturer, with a complete range of heavy buses for passenger transportation. The product range includes complete buses and coaches as well as chassis combined with a comprehensive range of services.
The bus operation has a global presence, with production in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia. In India it set up its production facility in Bangalore. Former production facility was located in Irvine, Scotland (closed in 2000).
Products
Chassis
Codes in parentheses are VIN codes for the chassis models.
Historical
- 1930s/40s: B10, B12
- 1950s: B627
- 1950s-1960s: B615/B616/B617
- 1950s-1960s: B635/B638
- 1950s-1960s: B705
- 1950s-1960s: B725/B727
- 1951-1963: B655 (mid-engine)/B656/B657/B658
- 1960s: B715
- 1963-1965: B755
- 1960s-1980s: B57 & BB57
- 1965-1982: B58
- 1966-1971: B54
- 1970-1980: B59
- 1973-1985: Ailsa B55
- 1978-2001: B10M/B10MA/B10MD (1M) – the double deck city bus version B10MD, built from 1982 to 1993, was also known as Citybus
- 1983–1996? B9M (9M) – low-budget version of the B10M
- 1988–1991 B10C (1C) – special Australian coach version of the B10M
- 1978-1991: B10R (1R)
- 1978-1987?: B6F/B6FA (6A)
- 198?-198?: B6M (6M) – for Asia Pacific
- 1990-2002: B10B (R1)
- 1991-2011: B12 (R2) – known as B12R, later B380R/B420R in Brazil
- 1991-1998: B6/B6LE (R3)
- 1992-2000: Olympian (YN) – modified from Leyland Olympian
- 1992-2004: B10BLE (R4)
- 1993-2000s: B10L/B10LA (R5)
- 1997-2006?: B7L/B7LA (R7)
- 1998-2002: B6BLE (R3)
- 1997-2011: B12B (R8)
- 2001-2011: B12BLE/B12BLEA (R8) – articulated version was introduced in 2005
- 1998-2004: Super Olympian (S1) – also known as B10TL
- 1999-2006: B7TL (S2)
- 2000-2003: B10R (S3) – for Brazil
- 2010?-2013: B9RLE (S5)
Current
- 1997-: B7R (R6) – known as B290R in Brazil since 2011
- 2001-: B7RLE (R6) – low-entry version of the B7R
- 1999-: B12M/B12MA (R9) – known as B340M in Brazil since 2011 (bi-articulated version was introduced in 2002)
- 2002-: B9TL (S4) – low-floor double-decker, once known as Olympian in Volvo official website
- 2003-: B9R (S5) – known as B340R/B380R in Brazil 2011–2012
- 2002-: B9S (S6) – bi-articulated version was introduced in 2006, known as B360S in Brazil since 2011
- 2005-: B9L/B9LA (S7) – low-floor
- 2008-: B5LH (T1) – low-floor hybrid-electric bus
- 2009-: BXXR (T2)
- 2011-: B270F (T5) – front-engined
- 2012-: B5TL (T9) – low-floor double-decker
- 2012-: B5RH/B5RLEH (T8) – step-entrance/low-entry hybrid-electric bus, known as B215RH/B215LH in Brazil
- 2013-: B8R (T7)
- 2013-: B8RLE/B8RLEA (T7) – low-entry version of the B8R
- 2015-: BE (U1)
- 2016-: B8L (U2) – low-floor double-decker
Complete buses
- C10M (built in 1980s)
- 5000/7500 low-floor citybus (B10L/B7L/B9S Articulated chassis)
- 7000/7700 low-floor citybus (B10L/B7L/B9L chassis)
- 7250/7350 coach (Volvo/Drögmöller B10-400/B7R chassis) - for Mexico
- 7400 - for India
- 7400XL - for India
- 7450/7550 coach
- 7700A articulated low-floor citybus (B7LA/B9LA chassis)
- 7700 Hybrid low-floor citybus (B5LH chassis)
- 7800 articulated BRT bus (B9S Articulated chassis) - for China
- 7900 low-floor citybus
- 7900 Hybrid low-floor citybus (B5LH chassis)
- 7900A Hybrid articulated low-floor citybus (B5LAH chassis)
- 8300 intercity (B9R chassis) - for Mexico
- 8400 citybus (B7RLE chassis) - for India
- 8500 TX intercity (B7R/B12M chassis)
- 8500A articulated intercity (B12MA chassis)
- 8500LE citybus (B10BLE/B7RLE/B12BLE/B9S Articulated chassis)
- 8600 (B8R chassis) – for Europe, built in India
- 8700 TX intercity (B7R/B12B/B12M chassis)
- 8700LE citybus (B7RLE/B12BLE chassis)
- 8700LEA articulated citybus (B12BLEA chassis)
- 8900 intercity (B7R/B9R/B8R chassis)
- 8900LE citybus (B7RLE/B9RLE/B8RLE chassis)
- 9100 coach - for Asia, built in India
- 9300 coach (B9R chassis) - for Mexico
- 9400 intercity (B7R/B8R/B9R chassis) - for India
- 9400XL(6X2) intercity (B9R chassis) - for India
- 9400PX coach (B11R chassis) - for India
- 9500 coach (B9R/B8R chassis)
- 9600 coach (B9R chassis) - for China
- 9700 TX intercity/coach (B12B/B12M/B7R/B9R/B13R/B11R/B8R chassis)
- 9800 coach (B12M chassis) - for China
- 9800 coach (B13R chassis) - for Mexico
- 9800 Double Decker coach (B13R chassis) - for Mexico
- 9900 coach (B12B/B13R/B11R chassis)
Acquired companies
Bus makers owned/acquired by Volvo:
- Säffle Karosseri AB, Säffle, Sweden (1981, known as Volvo Bussar Säffle AB from 2004, plant closed in 2013)
- Leyland Bus, United Kingdom (1988, all Leyland products ceased production by July 1993)
- Steyr Bus GmbH, Steyr, Austria (75% in 1990,[2] plant closed in the 1990s)
- Aabenraa Karrosseri A/S, Aabenraa, Denmark (1994, plant closed in 2004)
- Drögmöller Karosserien GmbH & Co. KG, Heilbronn, Germany (1994, later known as Volvo Busse Industries (Deutschland) GmbH, plant closed in 2005)
- Prevost Coaches, Quebec, Canada (1995), now known as Prevost Car
- Merkavim, Israel (1996), jointly owned by Volvo Bus Corporation & Mayer Cars & Trucks Ltd., importer of HONDA cars & bikes in Israel[3]
- Volvo Polska Sp. z o.o., Wrocław, Poland (1996), the largest Volvo Buses factory in Europe
- Carrus Oy, Finland (January 1998,[4] known as Volvo Bus Finland Oy from 2004)
- Nova Bus, St-Eustache, Quebec, Canada (1998)
- Mexicana de Autobuses SA (MASA), Tultitlán, Mexico (1998), renamed Volvo Buses de México[5]
- Alfa Busz Kft, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, (2002)
- EUROBUS, Zagreb, Croatia (1994.-1999.) on chassis B10, B12
Production sites
Gallery
- Volvo bus used in White Buses action of 1945
- Volvo B12 Bus 1940
- Volvo B10 Bus 1938
- Volvo B512 Bus 1948
- Volvo B513X Bus 1948
- Volvo B617 Bus 1952
- Volvo B655 Bus 1952
- Volvo Bus 1953
- Volvo B638 Bus 1953
- Volvo B727 Bus 1953
- Volvo B70501 Bus 1959
- Volvo B655 Bus 1963
- 1967 Volvo bus
- Volvo B58 Bus 1968
- A Van Hool-bodied Volvo B10M single-deck coach
- Volvo B10MA, 1985
- Volvo Olympian 1996
- A 1993 built B10B bus with Alexander Strider bodywork, pictured as a training bus for First Greater Manchester
- Volvo B9TL, 2013
- Volvo B7RLE, 2012
- Volvo B8RLE, 2013
- Volvo B8RLEA, 2015
- Volvo B12BLEA, 2009
- Volvo B11R, 2018
References
- "Annual and Sustainability Report 2016" (PDF). Volvo. pp. 81, 95.
- Brief History Overview Volvo Buses (Archived 28 January 1997)
- "AB Volvo - press release". Cision Wire. 22 September 1999. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
- Carrus Carrus (Archived 2 March 2000)
- "Volvo Buses de Mexico (previously MASA)". Jane's Urban Transport Systems, Jane's Information Group. 9 November 2005. Archived from the original on 15 August 2011. Retrieved 17 September 2015.