Volvo Buses

Volvo Buses (Volvo Bus Corporation; formal name: Volvo Bussar AB), stylized as VOLVO, is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Gothenburg.

It is one of the world's largest bus manufacturers, with a complete range of heavy buses for passenger transportation. The product range includes complete buses and coaches as well as chassis combined with a comprehensive range of services.

The bus operation has a global presence, with production in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia. In India it set up its production facility in Bangalore. A former production facility was located in Irvine, Scotland (closed in 2000).

Chassis
Codes in parentheses are VIN codes for the chassis models.

Historical

 * 1930s/40s: B10, B12
 * 1950s: B627
 * 1950s–1960s: B615/B616/B617
 * 1950s–1960s: B635/B638
 * 1950s–1960s: B705
 * 1950s–1960s: B725/B727
 * 1951–1963: B655 (mid-engine)/B656/B657/B658
 * 1960s: B715
 * 1963–1965: B755
 * 1960s–1980s: B57 & BB57
 * 1965–1982: B58
 * 1966–1971: B54
 * 1970–1980: B59
 * 1973–1985: Ailsa B55
 * 1978–2001: B10M/B10MA/B10MD (1M) – the double deck city bus version B10MD, built from 1982 to 1993, was also known as Citybus
 * 1983–1996? B9M (9M) – low-budget version of the B10M
 * 1988–1991 B10C (1C) – special Australian coach version of the B10M
 * 1978–1991: B10R (1R)
 * 1978–1987?: B6F/B6FA (6A)
 * 198?–198?: B6M (6M) – for Asia Pacific
 * 1990–2002: B10B (R1)
 * 1991–2011: B12 (R2) – known as B12R, later B380R/B420R in Brazil
 * 1991–1998: B6/B6LE (R3)
 * 1992–2000: Olympian (YN) – modified from Leyland Olympian
 * 1992–2004: B10BLE (R4)
 * 1993-2000s: B10L/B10LA (R5)
 * 1997–2006?: B7L/B7LA (R7)
 * 1998–2002: B6BLE (R3)
 * 1997–2011: B12B (R8)
 * 2001–2011: B12BLE/B12BLEA (R8) – articulated version was introduced in 2005
 * 1998–2004: Super Olympian (S1) – also known as B10TL
 * 1999–2006: B7TL (S2)
 * 2000–2003: B10R (S3) – for Brazil
 * 2002–2018: B9TL (S4) – low-floor double-decker, once known as Olympian in Volvo official website
 * 2010?–2013: B9RLE (S5)
 * 2012–2021: B5TL (T9) – low-floor double-decker

Current

 * 1997–: B7R (R6) – known as B290R in Brazil since 2011
 * 2001–: B7RLE (R6) – low-entry version of the B7R
 * 1999–: B12M/B12MA (R9) – known as B340M in Brazil since 2011 (bi-articulated version was introduced in 2002)
 * 2003–: B9R (S5) – known as B340R/B380R in Brazil 2011–2012
 * 2002–: B9S (S6) – bi-articulated version was introduced in 2006, known as B360S in Brazil since 2011
 * 2005–: B9L/B9LA (S7) – low-floor
 * 2008–: B5LH (T1) – low-floor hybrid-electric bus
 * 2009–: BXXR (T2)
 * 2009–: B13R – 12.8-litre engine
 * 2011–: B11R – 10.8-litre engine, known as B340R/B380R/B420R/B450R in Brazil
 * 2011–: B270F (T5) – front-engined
 * 2012–: B5RH/B5RLEH (T8) – step-entrance/low-entry hybrid-electric bus, known as B215RH/B215LH in Brazil
 * 2013–: B8R (T7)
 * 2013–: B8RLE/B8RLEA (T7) – low-entry version of the B8R
 * 2015–: BE (U1)
 * 2016–: B8L (U2) – low-floor double-decker
 * 2021–: BZL – low-floor single/double-decker
 * 2024–: BZR – flexible electric chassis

Complete buses

 * C10M (built in 1980s)
 * 5000/7500 low-floor citybus (B10L/B7L/B9S Articulated chassis)
 * 7000/7700 low-floor citybus (B10L/B7L/B9L chassis)
 * 7250/7350 coach (Volvo/Drögmöller B10-400/B7R chassis) – for Mexico
 * 7400 – for India
 * 7400XL – for India
 * 7450/7550 coach
 * 7700A articulated low-floor citybus (B7LA/B9LA chassis)
 * 7700 Hybrid low-floor citybus (B5LH chassis)
 * 7800 articulated BRT bus (B9S Articulated chassis) – for China
 * 7900 low-floor citybus
 * 7900 Hybrid low-floor citybus (B5LH chassis)
 * 7900A Hybrid articulated low-floor citybus (B5LAH chassis)
 * 8300 intercity (B9R chassis) – for Mexico
 * 8400 citybus (B7RLE chassis) – for India
 * 8500 TX intercity (B7R/B12M chassis)
 * 8500A articulated intercity (B12MA chassis)
 * 8500LE citybus (B10BLE/B7RLE/B12BLE/B9S Articulated chassis)
 * 8600 (B8R chassis) – for Europe, built in India
 * 8700 TX intercity (B7R/B12B/B12M chassis)
 * 8700LE citybus (B7RLE/B12BLE chassis)
 * 8700LEA articulated citybus (B12BLEA chassis)
 * 8900 intercity (B7R/B9R/B8R chassis)
 * 8900LE citybus (B7RLE/B9RLE/B8RLE chassis)
 * 9100 coach – for Asia, built in India
 * 9300 coach (B9R chassis) – for Mexico
 * 9400 intercity (B7R/B8R/B9R chassis) – for India
 * 9400XL(6X2) intercity (B9R chassis) – for India
 * 9400PX coach (B11R chassis) – for India
 * 9500 coach (B9R/B8R chassis)
 * 9600 coach (B9R chassis) – for China
 * 9600 coach (B8R chassis) – for India
 * 9700 TX intercity/coach (B12B/B12M/B7R/B9R/B13R/B11R/B8R chassis)
 * 9800 coach (B12M chassis) – for China
 * 9800 coach (B13R chassis) – for Mexico
 * 9800 Double Decker coach (B13R chassis) – for Mexico
 * 9900 coach (B12B/B13R/B11R chassis)

Acquired companies
Bus makers owned/acquired by Volvo:
 * Säffle Karosseri AB, Säffle, Sweden (1981, known as Volvo Bussar Säffle AB from 2004, plant closed in 2013)
 * Leyland Bus, United Kingdom (1988, all Leyland products ceased production by July 1993)
 * Steyr Bus GmbH, Steyr, Austria (75% in 1990, plant closed in the 1990s)
 * Aabenraa Karrosseri A/S, Aabenraa, Denmark (1994, plant closed in 2004)
 * Drögmöller Karosserien GmbH & Co. KG, Heilbronn, Germany (1994, later known as Volvo Busse Industries (Deutschland) GmbH, plant closed in 2005)
 * Prevost Coaches, Quebec, Canada (1995), now known as Prevost Car
 * Merkavim, Israel (1996), jointly owned by Volvo Bus Corporation & Mayer Cars & Trucks Ltd., importer of HONDA cars & bikes in Israel
 * Volvo Polska Sp. z o.o., Wrocław, Poland (1996), the largest Volvo Buses factory in Europe
 * Carrus Oy, Finland (January 1998, known as Volvo Bus Finland Oy from 2004)
 * Carrus Oy Delta, Lieto, known as Volvo Bus Finland Oy Turku Factory from 2004, became independent in 2008 and renamed Carrus Delta Oy
 * Carrus Oy Ajokki, Tampere, known as Volvo Bus Finland Oy Tampere Factory from 2004, plant closed in 2008
 * Carrus Oy Wiima, Vantaa, plant closed in 2001
 * Nova Bus, St-Eustache, Quebec, Canada (1998)
 * Mexicana de Autobuses SA (MASA), Tultitlán, Mexico (1998), renamed Volvo Buses de México
 * Alfa Busz Kft, Székesfehérvár, Hungary, (2002)
 * EUROBUS, Zagreb, Croatia (1994.-1999.) on chassis B10, B12
 * Proterra (2023)

Production sites

 * Sainte-Claire, Quebec, Canada
 * Borås, Sweden
 * Hoskote, Bangalore, India
 * Curitiba, Brazil
 * Wroclaw, Poland
 * Tultitlán, Mexico