Orders for 424 Volvo buses to Norway and Sweden

Volvo Buses has received orders for 424 buses to customers in Norway and Sweden. In Norway, three operators that won two large tenders chose for the most part to purchase Volvo buses.

”These orders further strengthen our role as market leader in the Nordic region,” says Stefan Nordstr?m, Senor Vice President, Business Region Europe.

The tenders in Norway involved Norhordaland north of Bergen in which the operator Concordia won the traffic contract and Romerike north of Oslo in which Nettbuss, Unibuss and Concordia secured the assignment. Subsequently, when the operators selected suppliers of buses for the traffic, Volvo Buses landed contracts around year-end for 319 buses, slightly more than 80% of the deliveries.

“I am convinced that our success is due to us being able to offer a highly favorable total economy,” says Svenn-?ge L?kken, head of Volvo Buses in Norway. “The orders involve proven products and through the years we have shown that we can deliver on time and with the right quality.”

Most of the orders pertain to complete buses. Nearly 225 are Volvo 8700 intercity buses that are built at the plant in Wroclaw, Poland and about 30 Volvo 8500 intercity buses built at the plant in S?ffle, Sweden. The remaining buses are chassis to be completed with bodies by the Vest bodybuilder in Norway.

The operators have also chosen to be at the forefront with regard to environmental investments. The buses are equipped with Volvo’s 7- and 12-liter engines that meet either the Euro V environmental standard, which does not become effective until the autumn, or EEV, that is an even more stringent but voluntary emissions standard. The buses will be delivered in the spring and placed in traffic this summer.

In Sweden, Concordia ordered 105 buses. Most of the buses are Volvo 8500 models, of which 40 will be placed in traffic in Stockholm and the same number in the G?teborg
area. The order also includes 15 Volvo 9700 coaches to Swebus Express. The buses will be delivered from April to October.