VOLVO BUS’s 200,000th chassis ever produced globally is a BZL Electric – from its Borås factory in Sweden – destined for Perth, Australia, the company confirms
Following its successful local worldwide online launch from Brisbane last September, production of the BZL has been ramping up at the Borås factory, with chassis number 200,000 due to be handed over to the Public Transport Authority (PTA) of Western Australia later this year, according to Volvo Bus Australia.
The handover will form part of the AUD$549 million bus-supply contract awarded in March, 2019, to Volvo Bus Australia in partnership with Volgren Australia, where Volvo Bus is to supply 90 buses per year for five years to the PTA – four of which will be Volvo BZL Electric units delivered this year, Volvo explains.
“What a milestone it is seeing our 200,000th chassis off the Boras production line and, on top of that, the unit being our most efficient chassis model to date: the Volvo BZL Electric,” said Volvo Bus Australia general manager Mitch Peden.
“We look forward to the handover of the vehicle later this year to PTA as part of our current supply contract, as this bus runs the Joondalup CAT route in WA,” he added.
GLOBAL HUB
While the Volvo milestone unit happened to be a Volvo BZL Electric, since its opening in 1977 the Volvo Bus factory at Borås has manufactured more than 50 different quality chassis models over the years, with some of the more popular models being the Volvo B10M, Volvo B7R/B7RLE and the Volvo B11R.
The Borås factory is also Volvo Bus’s global industrial hub for chassis production and is one of the first bus production facilities that relies solely on 100 per cent renewable energy produced from clean energy sources, including hydropower and biofuels, Volvo Bus states.
Photography: courtesy Volvo Bus Australia