Nova Bus, a subsidiary of Volvo Buses, has won a contract to supply 475 hybrid buses from Association du transport urbain du Québec (ATUQ), a consortium of the Quebec's nine transit authorities in Canada.
The order also includes an option for about 1200 vehicles and is claimed to be the largest-ever single order for hybrid vehicles for the Volvo Group both in North America and worldwide.
Scheduled to be delivered from beginning of 2014, the LFS Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) buses will provide about 30% lower fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions compared to the conventional diesel-powered buses.
Separately, Nova Bus is developing other environmentally optimised solutions like plug-in hybrids and all-electric buses in addition to improving hybrid technology.
ATUQ, which represents transit operators in the nine cities in the province including Quebec City, Montreal, Sherbrooke and Saguenay, provides about 90% of all public transportation in the province, which could be a main market for Volvo buses.
So far, Volvo Buses had delivered over 1600 hybrid buses in the growing hybrid bus market worldwide.
