Volvo BZL | |
---|---|
Overview | |
Manufacturer | Volvo Buses |
Production | 2021– |
Assembly | Borås, Sweden |
Body and chassis | |
Class | Electric bus |
Doors | 1, 2 or 3 |
Floor type | Low floor |
Powertrain | |
Power output | 400 kW, 31 kNm |
Transmission | 2-speed AMT |
Battery | 282/376/470 kWh 600 V lithium iron phosphate (NCA in Australia) [1] |
Plug-in charging | 300 kW (OppCharge roof charging) 150 kW CCS |
Dimensions | |
Wheelbase | 3700 mm |
Length |
|
Width | 2,500 millimetres (8.2 ft) |
Chronology | |
Predecessor | Volvo B5LH Volvo B8RLE |
The Volvo BZL is a full-size zero-emission battery electric bus chassis for both single-decker buses and double-decker buses, manufactured by Volvo since 2021. [3]
The BZL Electric range was launched in September 2021, with the first right-hand drive examples being built as demonstrators for the UK and Ireland market, using double-decker and single-decker bodies by MCV Bus & Coach. The chassis range features CO2 heat pump-powered heating and ventilation, and is claimed to be 90% recyclable. It is also built to a high safety standard with multiple new safety innovations such as sealed battery compartments and a strengthened front frame. [4] [5] [2]
The first Volvo BZLs for the United Kingdom were delivered to Stagecoach West Scotland, with deliveries for 25 MCV-bodied single-deck BZLs for use in Ayrshire commencing in February 2023. [6] The first double-deck MCV-bodied BZLs would then enter service with Stagecoach East in Cambridge from May 2023, with 30 of the type delivered for use on the Cambridge park and ride and other services in the city. [7] [8] Stagecoach Manchester's Stockport depot is to take delivery 150 double-deck and 20 single-deck BZLs in summer 2024, the largest zero-emissions bus order by the Stagecoach Group to date, [9] which was followed by an order for 19 single-deck BZLs for Stagecoach London, which are to be delivered from late 2023. [10]
Elsewhere in the United Kingdom, forty-eight MCV-bodied single-deck BZLs were ordered by Metroline, [11] with the first 14 buses from this order entering service on route 251 from January 2024. [12] Metroline are also scheduled to take delivery of a further 28 BZL single-decks for use on routes 228 and 316 during the first quarter of 2024. [13] Warrington's Own Buses plans to take delivery of 105 single and double-deck BZLs to replace the operator's entire diesel bus fleet, with deliveries planned to commence in early 2024, [14] while Lothian Buses plans to take delivery of 50 double-deck BZLs in two batches for service in Edinburgh in 2024. [15] Demonstrator models have entered service with Stagecoach South in Winchester, [16] East Yorkshire in Kingston upon Hull, [17] [18] and First South Yorkshire in Sheffield. [19]
In Australia, a BZL with a Volgren Optimus single-decker body designed for the Australia and New Zealand market was unveiled in October 2021 at Volvo's Australian headquarters in Brisbane. [20] [21] The first four Volgren-bodied BZLs entered service with Transperth in the suburbs of Perth between February and March 2022, [22] followed by the first of 17 BZLs ordered for Transdev Queensland in February 2023, [23] [24] and two BZLs for the Transport for Brisbane for use on the Spring Hill Loop service in May 2023. [25]
In Singapore, a Volvo BZL with a three-door SC Neustar City body, unveiled in November 2022 and developed in joint partnership between Volvo and local bus and coach bodywork manufacturer SC Auto, entered service on trial with Tower Transit Singapore on 26 March 2023 on route 990, [26] while in Colombia, a Volvo BZL built with Marcopolo bodywork was unveiled at a tech expo in the capital Bogotá in June 2023 for use on the city's TransMilenio bus rapid transit (BRT) system, the first bus from a European manufacturer to be delivered to the country; this BZL began trial operations in Curitiba in Brazil, with further trials in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Santiago de Chile to follow. [27] [28] [29]
The Alexander ALX400 was a 2-axle double-decker bus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders. It was one of the ALX-series bodywork, all of which featured the same designs on the front and rear panels that were originally designed for the new generation of mainly low-floor bus chassis produced since the late 1990s.
The Plaxton President was a low floor double-decker bus body built by Plaxton at the former Northern Counties factory in Wigan, England. It was first unveiled in 1997 on the longitudinal Volvo B7L chassis and later built between 1998 and 2005 following a body redesign. When it became part of TransBus International, the body was sold under the TransBus name. The President was built on the Dennis/TransBus Trident, the DAF DB250 and the Volvo B7TL chassis.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400, Dennis Trident and Plaxton President. In 2014, the Enviro400 was succeeded by the updated Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC and production of the classic Enviro400 ceased in 2018.
The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a low-floor double-decker bus body that was built by Wrightbus since 2001, based on the single-decker Wright Eclipse design. The second-generation Eclipse Gemini 2 was launched in 2009, followed by the third-generation Gemini 3 in 2013. Additionally, the body was available on Volvo Super Olympian chassis in Hong Kong between 2003 and 2005, marketed as the Wright Explorer.
Stagecoach West is a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group.
First York operates local bus services, with a network centring around the cathedral city of York, North Yorkshire, England. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup, which operates bus, rail and tram services across the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Stagecoach Manchester is a major bus operator in Greater Manchester. It is the largest UK bus subsidiary of Stagecoach Group outside of Greater London, as well as the largest within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester by passenger numbers, carrying up to 96.2 million passengers in 2019/20. The operator is to commence operating franchised Bee Network bus services from three depots on contract to Transport for Greater Manchester from 24 March 2024.
The Northern Counties Paladin, also badged as the Plaxton Paladin towards the end of production, is a step-entrance single-decker bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK, between 1991 and 1998. The replacements for the Paladin are the Prestige and the Pointer as low-floor models for the Paladin LF.
Stagecoach East is a bus operator providing local and regional services across the East of England, operating in the counties of Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group and is headquartered and registered in Cambridge.
The York park and ride is a park and ride network in the cathedral city of York, England, with sites operated by the City of York Council and bus services operated by First York. It is the largest park and ride network in the United Kingdom, with 4,970 car spaces across six sites: Askham Bar, Grimston Bar, Monks Cross, Poppleton Bar, Rawcliffe Bar and York Designer Outlet.
The Volvo B5LH is a low-floor hybrid electric bus chassis for both single-decker buses and double-decker buses manufactured by Volvo between 2008 and 2023. It is the basis for Volvo's integral 7700 Hybrid full low floor city bus and its successor, the 7900 Hybrid from 2011. In 2008, pre-production batches of both types of chassis were manufactured. Serial production started in June 2010. From 2013 it is also available as an articulated bus chassis. First entering service in London, the B5LH is the only current double decker type in service in the United Kingdom that uses a parallel hybrid drive system.
The Volvo B5TL is a 2-axle low-floor double decker built by Volvo. It replaced the B9TL as Volvo's Euro 6 2-axle double decker product for the UK and Irish markets.
The Wright StreetDeck is an integral double-decker bus manufactured by Wrightbus since 2014, originally delivered as standard with a Daimler OM934 diesel engine. Hybrid-electric, full-electric and hydrogen-powered variants have subsequently been produced. Production of the StreetDeck range was briefly suspended when Wrightbus entered administration in September 2019.
The Volvo B8RLE is a 7.7-litre-engined low-entry bus chassis manufactured by Volvo since 2013 for left-hand drive markets. It was designed as a replacement for the B7RLE and the B9RLE. The right-hand drive version was launched in November 2014.
The MCV EvoSeti is a low-floor double-decker bus body built by MCV Bus & Coach as a replacement for the MCV DD103. It was unveiled in May 2015.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC is a low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2014, replacing the Alexander Dennis Enviro400. The Enviro400 MMC is produced at Alexander Dennis' Falkirk and Scarborough factories in the United Kingdom.
The MCV Evora is a single-decker bus bodywork produced by Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV) since 2018, as the successor to the MCV Evolution. The Evora is currently available on Volvo B8RLE and Volvo B5LH chassis.
The Wright GB Kite is a range of full-size zero-emission single-deck buses manufactured by Wrightbus since 2022. Similar in body style to the diesel powered Wright GB Hawk, the GB Kite is an integral design that can be built as a battery electric vehicle, the Electroliner BEV, and as a fuel cell electric vehicle, the Hydroliner FCEV.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400EV is a battery electric double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis in partnership with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto since 2018. Based on its Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City body, which was launched in 2015 to compete with the hybrid electric New Routemaster, the Enviro400EV is produced at Alexander Dennis' Falkirk and Scarborough factories in the United Kingdom, with production of the type at the company's Larbert headquarters set to also commence in mid-2023. The Enviro400EV is available both as a complete integral battery electric bus and as a battery electric bus body on a BYD K series chassis, as well the integral Enviro400FCEV fuel cell bus.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro200EV is a battery electric single-deck bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis in partnership with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto since 2015. An electric variant of the diesel integral Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, which had been launched that same year to replace the outgoing Enviro200 and Enviro300, the Enviro200EV utilises BYD's own 12 m chassis and drivetrain and has a range of up to 160 miles with a recharge time of 3.5 hours. A shorter 10.8 m variant was subsequently added to the range in 2016.
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