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.
It is one of the world's largest bus manufacturers, 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. A 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
- 1950sâÂÂ1960s: B615/B616/B617
- 1950sâÂÂ1960s: B635/B638
- 1950sâÂÂ1960s: B705
- 1950sâÂÂ1960s: B725/B727
- 1951âÂÂ1963: B655 (mid-engine)/B656/B657/B658
- 1960s: B715
- 1963âÂÂ1965: B755
- 1960sâÂÂ1980s: B57 & BB57
- 1965âÂÂ1982: B58
- 1966âÂÂ1971: B54
- 1970âÂÂ1980: B59
- 1973âÂÂ1985: Ailsa B55
- 1978âÂÂ2001: B10M/B10MA/B10MD (1M) â the double deck city bus version B10MD, built from 1982 to 1993, was also known as Citybus
- 1983âÂÂ1996? B9M (9M) â low-budget version of the B10M
- 1988âÂÂ1991 B10C (1C) â special Australian coach version of the B10M
- 1978âÂÂ1991: B10R (1R)
- 1978âÂÂ1987?: B6F/B6FA (6A)
- 198?âÂÂ198?: B6M (6M) â for Asia Pacific
- 1990âÂÂ2002: B10B (R1)
- 1991âÂÂ2011: B12 (R2) â known as B12R, later B380R/B420R in Brazil
- 1991âÂÂ1998: B6/B6LE (R3)
- 1992âÂÂ2000: Olympian (YN) â modified from Leyland Olympian
- 1992âÂÂ2004: B10BLE (R4)
- 1993-2000s: B10L/B10LA (R5)
- 1999âÂÂ2006: B7L/B7LA (R7)
2002-2014: Volvo B7RLE (R7) - Replacement for the B7L, superseded by The B8RLE chassis.
- 1998âÂÂ2002: B6BLE (R3)
- 1997âÂÂ2011: B12B (R8)
- 2001âÂÂ2011: B12BLE/B12BLEA (R8) â articulated version was introduced in 2005
- 1998âÂÂ2004: Super Olympian (S1) â also known as B10TL
- 1999âÂÂ2006: B7TL (S2)
- 2000âÂÂ2003: B10R (S3) â for Brazil
- 2002âÂÂ2018: B9TL (S4) â low-floor double-decker, once known as Olympian in Volvo official website
- 2010?âÂÂ2013: B9RLE (S5)
- 2012âÂÂ2021: B5TL (T9) â low-floor double-decker
Current
- 1997âÂÂ: B7R (R6) â known as B290R in Brazil since 2011
- 1999âÂÂ: B12M/B12MA (R9) â known as B340M in Brazil since 2011 (bi-articulated version was introduced in 2002)
- 2003âÂÂ: B9R (S5) â known as B340R/B380R in Brazil 2011âÂÂ2012
- 2002âÂÂ: B9S (S6) â bi-articulated version was introduced in 2006, known as B360S in Brazil since 2011
- 2005âÂÂ: B9L/B9LA (S7) â low-floor
- 2008âÂÂ: B5LH (T1) â low-floor hybrid-electric bus
- 2009âÂÂ: BXXR (T2)
- 2009âÂÂ: B13R â 12.8-litre engine
- 2011âÂÂ: B11R â 10.8-litre engine, known as B340R/B380R/B420R/B450R in Brazil
- 2011âÂÂ: B270F (T5) â front-engined
- 2012âÂÂ: B5RH/B5RLEH (T8) â step-entrance/low-entry hybrid-electric bus, known as B215RH/B215LH in Brazil
- 2013âÂÂ: B8R (T7)
- 2013âÂÂ: B8RLE/B8RLEA (T7) â low-entry version of the B8R
- 2015âÂÂ: BE (U1)
- 2016âÂÂ: B8L (U2) â low-floor double-decker
- 2021âÂÂ: BZL â low-floor single/double-decker
- 2024âÂÂ: BZR â flexible electric chassis
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) â for Mexico
- 7400 â for India
- 7400XL â 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) â 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) â for Mexico
- 8400 citybus (B7RLE chassis) â for India
- 8500 TX intercity (B7R/B12M chassis)
- 8500A articulated intercity (B12MA chassis)
- 8500LE citybus (B10BLE/B7RLE/B12BLE/B9S Articulated chassis)
- 8600 (B8R chassis) â 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 â for Asia, built in India
- 9300 coach (B9R chassis) â for Mexico
- 9400 intercity (B7R/B8R/B9R chassis) â for India
- 9400XL(6X2) intercity (B9R chassis) â for India
- 9400PX coach (B11R chassis) â for India
- 9500 coach (B9R/B8R chassis)
- 9600 coach (B9R chassis) â for China
- 9600 coach (B8R chassis) â for India
- 9700 TX intercity/coach (B12B/B12M/B7R/B9R/B13R/B11R/B8R chassis)
- 9800 coach (B12M chassis) â for China
- 9800 coach (B13R chassis) â for Mexico
- 9800 Double Decker coach (B13R chassis) â 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, 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
- Volvo Polska Sp. z o.o., WrocÃ
Âaw, Poland (1996), the largest Volvo Buses factory in Europe
- Carrus Oy, Finland (January 1998, known as Volvo Bus Finland Oy from 2004)
- Carrus Oy Delta, Lieto, known as Volvo Bus Finland Oy Turku Factory from 2004, became independent in 2008 and renamed Carrus Delta Oy
- Carrus Oy Ajokki, Tampere, known as Volvo Bus Finland Oy Tampere Factory from 2004, plant closed in 2008
- Carrus Oy Wiima, Vantaa, plant closed in 2001
- Nova Bus, St-Eustache, Quebec, Canada (1998)
- Mexicana de Autobuses SA (MASA), Tultitlán, Mexico (1998), renamed Volvo Buses de México
- Alfa Busz Kft, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, (2002)
- EUROBUS, Zagreb, Croatia (1994.-1999.) on chassis B10, B12
- Proterra (2023)
Production sites
Gallery
References
External links