Global CV major Volvo will commence serial production of hybrid buses – the Volvo 7700 Hybrid and the double-decker Volvo B5L Hybrid.

The company says the hybrid bus will reduce fuel consumption by up to 35 percent and carbon emissions by an equal amount. It will start regular production at its Polish and Swedish plants.

The coaches for the double-deckers will be built in Northern Ireland.

Its Indian subsidiary now plans to bring in the hybrid bus to conduct tests in Indian conditions.

“It is only now that there is a commercially viable hybrid bus in the European market,” says Håkan Karlsson, president, Volvo Buses.