Buses that glide noiselessly without emissions, that pick up passengers indoors and which are powered by a renewable source of electricity – this will become a reality in 2015, through the launch of an ultramodern bus service in Gothenburg. The new technology enables completely new possibilities for future public-transport. Behind the initiative is the Volvo Group, in cooperation with the Swedish Energy Agency, Region Västra Götaland, the City of Gothenburg, Göteborg Energi, Västtrafik, Lindholmen Science Park and Johanneberg Science Park.

Volvo Bus Latin America has sold 28 articulated buses for Transmetro, the BRT system in Guatemala City, capital of Guatemala.

The global community for public transport gathers at the 2013 UITP Congress in Geneva today – with Volvo Buses presenting news that strengthens the company’s position as the global partner for sustainable transport. On top of displaying a ground-breaking plug-in hybrid that reduces fuel consumption with 75 percent compared to a diesel bus, Volvo Buses also presents an innovative software solution that integrates vital parts of the physical traffic environment into the brain of the bus.

Tomorrow’s bus is already here – silent, cleaner and with dramatically lower fuel consumption. Volvo Buses’ new plug-in hybrid buses will hit the streets of Gothenburg, Sweden in May as part of a field test. The innovative technology will facilitate a reduction in fuel consumption by a full 75% compared with current diesel buses.

Lower sales volumes contributed to an operating loss of SEK 88 M in the first quarter 2013. Order intake in the first quarter totaled 2,109 buses, which was 6% higher than the same period last year. Strategic orders have been secured.