Volvo to commence serial production of hybrid buses

Volvo to commence serial production of hybrid buses

 
Volvo Buses will now commence serial production of its hybrid bus Volvo
7700 Hybrid and the double-decker Volvo B5L Hybrid. The hybrid bus will
reduce fuel consumption by up to 35% and carbon emissions by an equal
amount.

Following several years of research and development of the hybrid
technology, Volvo is now ready for serial production of city buses with
hybrid technology. The 12-meter Volvo 7700 Hybrid bus is now being built
in the company's plant in Wroclaw, Poland and the chassis for the
double-decker Volvo B5L Hybrid will be built in Borås, Sweden. The
coaches for the double-deckers will be built by Wrightbus in Northern
Ireland.
“This is a major step for the Volvo Group and for the bus industry,”
says Håkan Karlsson, President of Volvo Buses. “There is now a hybrid
bus in the market, which will significantly reduce fuel consumption,
strongly reduce emissions and is also commercially viable.”
In North America, hybrid buses currently represent about 20% of the
market for city buses and that portion is steadily increasing. However,
the hybrid technology used there is less cost-efficient and thus
requires various types of subsidies for investments to be profitable for
bus operators. In Europe, interest in and access to subsidies is lower
and consequently, the portion of hybrid buses is not as high.
“It is only now that there is a commercially viable hybrid bus in the
European market,” says Håkan Karlsson. “Thanks to significant fuel
savings and the fact that our technology is based on standard
components, our customers will recover the additional costs for the bus
in a relatively short time.”
“In addition, most are convinced that the price of diesel will increase,
making hybrid technology even more attractive.”
Volvo's hybrid buses have a smaller diesel engine than normal and an
electric engine that can operate the bus independently or jointly. When
the bus brakes, the brake energy is utilized and stored in a battery,
which then drives the electric engine when the bus accelerates again.
A key advantage of Volvo's parallel technology is that the engine
switches off automatically at bus stops. The bus then restarts only with
the help of the electric engine. The diesel engine does not start until
the bus reaches 15-20 km/hour. This gives a quiet and exhaust-free
environment at bus stops. 
Another advantage is that the bus generates significant fuel savings
regardless of where it is in operation. Many of the older hybrid
solutions are only efficient in highly congested city traffic, but
Volvo's technology functions equally well when there is a greater
distance between bus stops. In addition, the passenger capacity has
increased compared with the standard diesel bus. 
For over a year, Volvo Buses have conducted field tests on the buses and
the first customers have driven their hybrid buses in normal traffic for
some time. Everyone has considerable experience of the buses, both with
respect to fuel consumption and reliability.
In many respects, the fuel consumption is better than Volvo anticipated.
Customers' experience demonstrated savings from 25% on lines with fewer
stops and between 30 and 35% in more congested city traffic. There are
customers that report even larger savings.
“To date, the result has surpassed our expectations and all indications
are that we are at the breakthrough for hybrid technology for buses in
Europe as well,” says Håkan Karlsson. “Key support in this respect is
gained from the EU's new procurement regulations for reduced energy
consumption. This is precisely what we achieve with the hybrid
technology.”
May 28, 2010
For more information, please contact Per-Martin Johansson, Press
officer,
+46 31 322 52 00,
per-martin.johansson@volvo.com (per-martin.johansson@volvo.com)
 Download picture
here (http://icp.llr.se/CumulusE_Z/VBC_ImageGallery/Login2.jsp?assets=Vo
lvo_7700_Hybrid_Polen_Plant_2010.tif)