Volvo receives order for 12 hybrid buses to Norway
The operator company Nettbuss has ordered 12 hybrid buses from Volvo Buses for service in Norway, thereby becoming the first company in the Nordic region to implement the hybrid technology commercially. Hybrid buses reduce fuel consumption by as much as 30%.
The operator company Nettbuss has ordered ten Volvo 7700 Hybrid buses for use in Trondheim and two Volvo 7700 Hybrid buses for use in Arendal in southern Norway. Nettbuss has studied Volvo Buses’ field tests of hybrid buses in Göteborg and London, and has itself tested the hybrid buses in various cities across Norway. “We have always intended to use hybrid buses as soon as the technology became commercially viable”, says Arne Veggeland, CEO of Nettbuss AS. “The time has now come and I am delighted that we can take another step toward a greener environment.” “I am pleased that our sales of hybrid buses are starting to gain momentum,” says Svenn-Åge Løkken, head of Volvo Buses in Norway. “It is also gratifying to have made our first hybrid bus deal with Nettbuss, a company with a very strong commitment to the environment and one of our most important customers.” Volvo’s hybrid bus has a small diesel engine and an electric engine. The electric engine is battery operated and is charged using recovered brake energy. It is a parallel hybrid, which means that the bus can operate on either the electric or the diesel engine, individually or combined. Hybrid technology is suitable for vehicles that must start and stop continuously and is thus ideal for city buses in heavy traffic. The advantage of parallel technology is that the buses also consume significantly less fuel in traffic with greater distance between bus stops. Another major advantage of Volvo’s hybrid technology is that the diesel engine switches off at bus stops. The bus starts using the electric engine, and the diesel engine starts automatically only when the bus is travelling at 15-20 km/h. This solution offers considerable benefits for the city environment. Passengers, pedestrians and fellow commuters are spared noise and exhaust emissions. During the spring, Volvo will deliver hybrid buses to customers in such countries as Switzerland, Austria, Germany and Denmark. Serial production will commence in April 2010, and deliveries of the 12 hybrid buses to Nettbuss in Norway will be made in July. January 8, 2010 For further information, please contact Per-Martin Johansson, press officer, +46 31 322 52 00, per-martin.johansson@volvo.com Download picture here Visit http://www.thenewsmarket.com/volvogroup to access broadcast-standard video from Volvo Group. You can preview and request video, and choose to receive as a MPEG2 file or by Beta SP tape. Registration and video is free to the media.
Tags: