Volvo launches new city bus, coaches

Ahead of next month’s Auto Expo, Volvo has launched a new range of buses, comprising city bus and coaches. The new coach is aimed at the second tier routes and cities in India. Hakan Karlsson, President, Volvo Bus Corporation and Akash Passey, Managing Director & CEO, Volvo Buses in South Asia were present. The expanded range of Volvo Buses now includes three new models taking the company’s bus range to 10. To enhance safety standards, Volvo has introduced enhanced Front Under-run Protection (FUP) & Frontal Impact Protection (FIP) systems across all its coaches. Karlsson said, “About three months ago, we promised that we will play a bigger role in the progress of the Indian bus industry and announced an investment of Rs 400 crore. Today, we stand here with a product range that will take us there. Most importantly, our focus remains to drive quality of life and with our current range we will be spreading the Volvo experience to a larger market. Akash Passey, Managing Director & CEO, Volvo Buses in South Asia, said, “We are on our way to reaching our vision of a 1 billion dollar company with 5,000 buses produced each year.”

The new launches include a Multi-axle coach that is 14.5m and comes with steered axle. The Volvo 9400PX is longer, more spacious, more high-performing and comes with a host of new features to make travel even more comfortable. It is India’s longest intercity coach yet. It has been built on the new light-weight Volvo PX platform, which provides even better grade ability and acceleration as well as enhanced stability and larger luggage space. A key feature is the steerable tag-axle for better road handling and manoeuvrability. The Volvo 9400PX spacious interiors offer a range of opportunities for customers to incorporate passenger conveniences from pantry, toilets, VOD and a range of other features – for smooth long-distance travel. Volvo 9400PX has the unique distinction of being a global introduction, starting from India. It will offer 55 percent more occupancy and reduce emissions, fuel and space up to 30 percent. The other introduction is the Volvo 7400XL is India’s first multi-axle bus with a steered axle. At 14.5m, it is India’s first city bus aimed at supporting mass bus-based transport system.

Volvo’s third launch is the 9100 coach, a global introduction for Asia, from Asia. This new coach is designed to meet medium haulage applications and has been designed to take the Volvo experience to millions of new passengers. The Volvo 9100 highlights the organization’s local product development competencies.