The Hindu Business Line : Volvo hopes to sell 400 buses this year

VOLVO expects to close the year with sales of over 400 buses in India. Volvo's bus division Vice-President, Mr Akash Passey, told Business Line that the company has bagged its first order for intra-city buses from the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) for 25 buses. These buses will be launched in Bangalore to carry city commuters next month. Each of these buses cost around Rs 62 lakh.

Mr Passey said the Volvo bus division had posted a growth of around 25 per cent over last calendar year. "We expect to maintain a similar growth next year too," he said.

Mr Passey said these intra-city buses, the Volvo 8700 low entry series, come out with the same assembly line from where Volvo trucks are built. The body is built at the Jaico Automobile Engineering Company near Bangalore.

Mr Passey said several other State transport corporations were in talks with Volvo for launching these intra-city buses for commuters.

These buses have 7-litre engine meeting Euro 3 standards and are the latest model among Volvo's buses. They are equipped with low floors and are fitted with electronically controlled climate system. They can carry up to 90 passengers. Unlike tourist buses, these buses have two entrances with wide doors and have a kneeling mechanism that allows commuters to walk into the bus.

The instrument panel in front of the driver's seat has an information display that is linked to the on-board electronic system. If a serious fault occurs, the driver is alerted and advised to stop with the display indicating the nature of the problem. Mr Passey said all the drivers of the transport corporation were being trained by Volvo.

Volvo's bus division contributes around 25 per cent to the overall revenue of Volvo's operations in the country. In 2004, Volvo posted sales of around Rs 600 crore, which was nearly 60 per cent more than the previous year.

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