Volvo Bus Corporation

Volvo Bus Corporation is the second largest heavy bus manufacturer. Its history started in 1924 when Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson agreed to set up car production in Sweden. The first Volvo cars were completed on 14 April 1927 and in the first bus bodies built on truck chassis left the production line in 1928. Later, the management decided to put effort on producing bus chassis and not complete buses.

In 1934, the first dedicated bus chassis, B1, was produced. Petrol and crude oil engines are provided as options for customers, but the first diesel-engine bus of the brand had not turned up until 1945.

One of the most remarkable design of Volvo bus chassis was the mid-engine bus. It was first introduced in the early 1950s and the horizontal engine was nicknamed "pancake". Volvo was the first company to use turbocharged engine in a coach. The time was 1955. It turned the B635 to be a very popular model for urban and intercity service.

In 1979, the first B10M chassis, which was the successor of the B58 in the 1960s, rolled out of the production line. The type has become one of the most popular bus and coach chassis in the world.

In order to build complete buses and enlarge the scale of production, Volvo acquired a number of companies in the 1980s, including Hoeglunds in Saeffle (now named Saeffle Kaerosseri AB) and Leyland Bus, which generated large profit and market share in Great Britain and the Far East.

In 1990s, the company continued to enlarge and gain market share outside Europe. In 1994, a partnership with Xian Luoyang Motors was started and Volvo models like B10M and B7R have become popular in China. The year after it acquired Prevost Car Incorporation, a long distance bus manufacturer in Canada. Other acquisitions include Carrus Oy in Finland, Novabus in the USA, and MASA in Mexico.

Volvo 9700

Volvo 9900

Volvo B6BLE (Malta)

Volvo B6LE (Hong Kong, Australia)

Volvo B6 (Hong Kong, Malta, United Kingdom)

Volvo B7F (South Africa)

Volvo B7L Double Deck (Denmark, Malta, United Kingdom)

Volvo B7R
(Australia, Brazil, China, Hong Kong, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom)

Volvo B7RLE (Hong Kong, India, Malta, Singapore, United Kingdom)

Volvo B7TL (Malta, United Kingdom)

Volvo B9R (Hong Kong)

Volvo B9TL (Hong Kong, Singapore, United Kingdom)

Volvo B10B  (Germany, Israel, United Kingdom)

Volvo B10BLE (Singapore)

Volvo B10L (Australia)

Volvo B10M
(Australia, Bangladesh, China, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Malta, New Zealand, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom)

Volvo B10M Articulated (Brazil, Singapore, Portugal)

Volvo B10TL (Super Olympian) (Hong Kong, Singapore)

Volvo B12 (Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa)

Volvo B12-600 (Austria, Germany, Hungary)

Volvo B12B (Austria, New Zealand, United Kingdom)

Volvo B12M (Austria, Germany, Hong Kong)

Volvo B12MA (Tunisia)

Volvo Ailsa B55 (United Kingdom)

Volvo B58 (Switzerland, United Kingdom)

Volvo B59 (Australia, Portugal)

Volvo Olympian (Hong Kong, Singapore, United Kingdom)

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Page created: 31 May 1999

Last updated: 4 November 2012