Volvo Buses launches global e-mobility platform
Volvo Buses launches global e-mobility platform
Volvo Buses launched its BZR Electric – a global platform for city, intercity, and commuter operations – in Gothenburg last week. We were there!
The new platform is “so much more than a new product”, according to Anna Westerberg, president of Volvo Buses. “It’s a global multi-purpose platform for several new products,” she explained.
The Volvo BZR Electric comes as high-floor or low-entry, in two or three-axle configurations, and with a single or dual motor driveline. The number of batteries is flexible, and can be adjusted to match different types of operations.
The platform is designed to enable versions for both Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and, later on, coach applications. At launch, the platform accommodates lengths from 9.5 to 15m, a maximum weight of 27,000kg, and traction power up to 400kW (540hp). In combination with the modular battery arrangement of up to 540kWh, the Volvo BZR Electric is suitable for most applications in extended city and intercity operation.
Westerberg explained that the company has a firm ambition to accelerate its efforts to meet the global demand for electromobility solutions. “Therefore, it’s logical to extend our electromobility offering to include solutions for intercity, transit, and commuter operations. The BZR Electric is a globally offered platform that we can adapt to the variety in requirements of customers worldwide,” she elaborated.
She went on to note that electromobility is still a growing, fast-moving business, and that Volvo Buses has gathered more than a decade of first-hand experience together with customers and partners. “With the launch of the Volvo BZR Electric, we’re convinced that we now have a product and a complete offer that will be a long-term solution for customers worldwide,” she said. “It’s another major step for us in our efforts to provide efficient and sustainable transport solutions – today and in the future.”
Read our full report on the launch of the platform – and the accompanying conference in Sweden – in the next issue of FOCUS.
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