Volvo Buses has obtained its first order for city buses in India, with the Bangalore Metropolitan Corporation city bus operator placing orders for 25 buses. The buses will be built on the chassis of the Volvo B7RLE, and will be assembled at Volvo India's facility near Bangalore. The city buses will come with a 7-litre engine that meets euro 3 emission regulations. The body is built on the same design as the Volvo 8700, which is currently used in Europe. Head of Volvo Buses in India, Akash Passey said, 'Our inter-city coaches have already changed the way people perceive luxury coaches in this country. Now, Volvo city buses have the ability to do the same in Indian cities -providing sustainable public transport solutions that keeps pace with the rapid development and growth our cities face.
It has been estimated that the annual market for city buses is between 10,000 and 12,000 units. Recently, BEST, the Mumbai bus transport operator placed orders for 644 Leyland buses and 30 ultra-low floor buses. While the Leyland buses will be inducted in batches of five per month, the ultra-low floor buses will be gradually phased in by the end of the year.
Volvo India, which set up operations in 1999, has made an impact with its B7R coaches that have made an impact on inter-city routes. After getting clients in the South and West, including private bus operators, the company has now made some inroads in the North, bagging orders from the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation as well as the Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation. As per Volvo India figures, there are an estimated 750 Volvo coaches on India's roads. Last year, the company implemented its first order outside India with exports of the B7R to Bangladesh. Meanwhile, senior vice president, region International, Rune Lundberg said, 'The country is already among Volvo Buses' top ten markets in the world'.
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