B’lore roads to flaunt Volvo buses

B’lore roads to flaunt Volvo buses
Deccan Herald

The Volvo city coaches will hit Bangalore roads at the end of 2005. BMTC will be supplied with 25 buses as a first consignment.

Volvo Buses, the manufacturer of state of the art coaches, is taking a big step in India, the largest city bus market in the world. The company has received its first order for 25 city buses from Bangalore.

In just over three years Volvo’s intercity coaches have captured the minds of Indian bus passengers. There are currently around 750 Volvo coaches on the roads between various cities in India and Bangladesh.

Volvo has become the dominant maker of luxury intercity coaches, which has strengthened Volvo’s brand. Passengers don’t ask to buy a luxury ticket, they ask to buy a Volvo ticket.

“India is fast becoming one of our key markets,” says Rune Lundberg, Senior Vice-President Region International. “The country is already among Volvo Buses’ top ten markets in the world,” he added.

New frontier

This progress will be even stronger as the company is now entering the city bus market. This market has annual sales of 10,000-12,000 city buses each year.

The chassis is the Volvo B7RLE and will be assembled at Volvo’s factory in Bangalore. It has a 7-litre engine that meets the Euro 3 emission regulations. The body is built on the same design as the Volvo 8700, which is currently used in Europe. “Our intercity coaches have already changed the way people perceive luxury coaches in this country,” says Akash Passey, head of Volvo Buses in India. “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 of our cities.”