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Company type | Subsidiary of the Volvo Group |
Industry | Bus manufacturing |
Founded | 1968 |
Headquarters | Gothenburg, Sweden |
Areas served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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Brands | |
Revenue | 25.386 billion kr (2016) [1] |
0.911 billion kr (2016) [1] | |
Number of employees | 7,353 (2016) [1] |
Parent | Volvo |
Website | www |
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. [2]
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).
Codes in parentheses are VIN codes for the chassis models.
2002-2014: Volvo B7RLE (R7) - Replacement for the B7L, superseded by The B8RLE chassis.
Bus makers owned/acquired by Volvo:
The Volvo B7RLE is a low-entry single-deck bus chassis manufactured by Volvo. It was superseded by the Volvo B8RLE in 2013, with production of the B7RLE continuing until 2018.
Volvo B7 may refer to different 6.7-, 7.1- and 7.3-litre engined bus chassis from Volvo Buses:
The Volvo B7R is a coach chassis available with a range of bodies. It is promoted as a rear engined lightweight coach chassis. It is primarily intended for tourist and long-distance duties. B7R is also manufactured in China, Brazil, Hungary, India and Iran for use in regional transport services.
The Volvo B7L is a fully low floor single-decker bus, double-decker bus and articulated bus chassis with a rear engine mounted vertically on the left of the rear overhang. It was built as a replacement for the Volvo B10L, and the Volvo Olympian, used as both a single-decker bus and a double-decker bus chassis largely in Continental Europe. The Volvo B7L was superseded by the Volvo B9L in 2006.
Jonckheere was a Belgian motor coach and bus builder, founded in 1881 by Henri Jonckheere in Roeselare.
The Wright Eclipse is a low-floor single-deck bus body that was built by Wrightbus between 2000 and 2019. The second-generation Eclipse 2 was launched in 2008, followed by the third-generation Eclipse 3 in 2015. The Eclipse, and its sister design the Solar, were named for a solar eclipse which was visible in the UK in 1999, the year of its introduction.
The Caetano Levante is a coach body built by Salvador Caetano on Mercedes-Benz OC 500 RF, Scania K EB, Volvo B8R, Volvo B9R, Volvo B11R, Volvo B12B and Volvo B13R chassis, exclusively for National Express in the United Kingdom. It was specifically designed to comply with the Disability Discrimination Act 2005.
A single-decker bus or single-decker is a bus that has a single deck for passengers. Normally the use of the term single-decker refers to a standard two-axled rigid bus, in direct contrast to the use of the term double-decker bus, which is essentially a bus with two passenger decks and a staircase. These types of single-deckers may feature one or more doors, and varying internal combustion engine positions. The majority of single-deckers have a length of up to 12 m, although some exceptions of longer buses exist. They also typically weigh between 11 and 14 t.
The Volvo 7000, later Volvo 7700, was an integrally-constructed fully low-floor single-decker rigid bus and single-decker articulated bus built by Volvo between 1999 and 2012. It was generally available as 12-metre and 18-metre on both diesel and CNG, and from 2010 as a 12-metre hybrid electric. A trolleybus version has also been built.
The Volvo B10 was a front-engined bus chassis built in the 1930s, but may also refer to different 9.6-litre engined bus chassis from Volvo Buses:
The Volvo B9L is a fully low-floor single-decker bus chassis constructed by Volvo Buses from 2005 until 2013, replacing the Volvo B7L and Volvo B10L. An articulated model, known as the Volvo B9LA, is also available. It was superseded by the Volvo B5LH in Europe.
Volvo B13R is a 12.8-litre engined coach chassis available as both two- and tri-axle from Volvo since 2009. It was the first of the Volvo BXXR series, replacing the higher output configurations of the B12B. It was later joined by the B11R, which has the same base chassis but a smaller engine. However, because Volvo decided not to upgrade the D13 engine to comply with the Euro 6 emission requirements, it was replaced by the B11R in the European market, but is still available at other markets, like Mexico. The B13R is easy recognisable as being the only modern Volvo coach chassis with air intakes on the right-hand side.
The Volvo B11R is a 10.8-litre engined coach chassis available as both two- and tri-axle from Volvo since 2011. It was introduced as the second of the Volvo BXXR series, replacing the rest of the B12B range in 2011, and later its fellow BXXR platform model, the B13R in 2013.
The Volvo 9700 is a range of coaches manufactured by Volvo. It was introduced in 2001 as a replacement for the Carrus Star and Vector/Regal models. There are three main models in different heights; 9700S, 9700H and 9700HD. The 9700S is available only in the Nordic countries. In addition there is the stripped down 9500 and the 9900 with theater seating. The coaches come in a variety of lengths up to 15 metres, depending on models and markets. Volvo 9700 is currently sold in most of Europe and North America. In 2015, the Volvo 9800 was launched as a replacement for the 9700 in the Mexican market, followed by the double-decker 9800DD in March 2018.
The Volvo B8R is a 7.7-litre engined coach and intercity bus chassis manufactured by Volvo since 2013 for Euro VI markets. It was designed as a replacement for the B7R and the B9R.
The Volvo 8900 is a single-decker city bus and intercity bus, first introduced in 2010 as a cross-breed successor to both the aluminium body 8500 and the stainless steel body 8700, taking advantage of both techniques. It is available both with 860 mm step-entrance floor and as the low-entry Volvo 8900LE, and since 2024, is offered on the Volvo BZR chassis as a battery electric bus.
The Volvo 8700 is a single-decker city and single-decker intercity bus from Volvo manufactured between 2002 and 2011. It was available both with medium floor and as the low-entry Volvo 8700LE, which was even built as the articulated Volvo 8700LEA on a B12BLEA chassis. It was also available as a coach, and even some were delivered with a toilet.
The Volvo 8500 was an aluminium body single-deck city/intercity bus manufactured by Volvo between 2001 and 2011. It was available with medium floor as two-axle, tri-axle (B12M) and the articulated 8500A (B12MA). As the low-entry Volvo 8700LE as two-axle, tri-axle (B12BLE) and the articulate 8500LEA (B9SALE). From 2005 it was also available as the fully low floor Volvo 7500, which even came in a bi-articulated version. In the early years, the 8500LE was available with CNG on the B10BLE chassis. Later, CNG was only available on the 7500.
Merkavim Transportation Technologies Ltd., shortened to Merkavim, is the largest bus manufacturing company in Israel. They produce many different types of buses, including tourism coaches, urban buses, long-distance buses and minibuses. In addition to this, they also provide specialist buses, such as bullet-proof buses, prisoner-transport vehicles and VIP transport vehicles. The company was founded in 1946 and is jointly owned by Israeli vehicle-importer Mayer Cars and Trucks and by AB Volvo.
Sunsundegui is a bus and coach manufacturer based in Alsasua, Spain.