Volvo Buses
SMT
Volvo BZL Electric.
For liveable cities.
The Volvo BZL Electric is an electric bus chassis that delivers clean, quiet and efficient public transport for liveable cities. With its flexible charging concept, you can secure seamless operations within your existing timetable. And together with Volvo’s range of services and partnership approach, it supports your city in taking the next step in its electromobility transformation.
The Volvo BZL Electric is an electric city bus platform with great flexibility to optimise public transport for a wide range of needs.
Floor configuration
Low floor
Battery capacity (nominal)
Up to 500 kWh
Power output
Up to 400 kW
Permitted GVW
19500 Kg
All specifications
Towards zero
At Volvo, we want to help cities in their transformation towards zero-emissions cites. With Volvo BZL Electric, you can offer attractive public transport that complies with the toughest restrictions on emissions and noise, while at the same time helping to reduce congestion.
Tried and trusted e-mobility technology
Volvo was the first to deliver hybrids and electric buses for commercial operation. As part of the Volvo Group, we have accumulated considerable expertise. Our solutions have been proven in daily traffic for millions and millions of kilometres, top ranked in uptime. Tried, tested and trusted – that’s e-mobility the Volvo way.
Driver station
Ergonomics and comfort
The Volvo BZL Electric is designed to make driving impressively easy, quiet and comfortable. The extensive adjustment possibilities and the ergonomic instrument cluster reduce stress and improve working comfort. It’s a workstation made to attract, recruit and retain skilled drivers and bring the driver turnover to zero.
Your perfect workstation
The comfortable driver’s environment in a Volvo BZL Electric is probably one of the best available, with world-class ergonomic design and logical layout. With a powertrain fine-tuned to perfectly harmonise with the robust chassis design, this makes a bus with very low level of vibrations and interior noise.
| Multifunction steering wheel with media controls |
| Dashboard that moves with steering wheel adjustment |
| Digital instrument cluster |
Driver comfort
The Volvo BZL Electric chassis is a well-balanced mechanical system, which puts the engine power firmly down on the tarmac. Still it provides excellent ride comfort and a predictive behaviour to support the driver in any road condition.
| Fine-tuned wheel suspension for maximum stabilityUSB chargers |
| Propeller shaft and portal axle design reduce unsprung weight |
| High-power electric motors provide elasticity and uphill performance |
Passenger experience
Comfortably quiet
A Volvo BZL Electric is a comfortable experience for everyone. The bus welcomes your passengers quietly and gently at the bus stop. Low onboard noise makes it easier to talk to others or listen to music during the ride. The quiet operation also reduces noise for residents along the route, allowing the bus to get closer to where people actually live and work.
Body builder options
Designed for flexibility
The Volvo BZL Electric comes with multiple options for the body builder. Wheelbase and overhang can easily be adapted to a body design that meets the operational requirement. The component packaging is developed for maximum serviceability. Add to that the location of the energy storage units, providing excellent load distribution. The Volvo BZL Electric chassis design is simply focused on top quality in efficient manufacturing of a premium electric city bus.
Charging
The best energy strategy for your route
With Volvo, you can combine and change your charging methods. Quick high-power charging en route or in the depot, as well as manually operated depot charging via CCS cable. And your buses’ energy storage system can be specified to perfectly suit the capacity need of your route.
Charging en route
Charging en route lets you specify your buses with fewer batteries, resulting in less weight and more passenger capacity. The OppCharge system is an open architecture that gives you rapid and fully automatic charging at end stations and keeps productivity up. With no need for returning to the depot for charging, you get virtually unlimited range.
| OppCharge |
| Up to 450 kW max charge power |
Depot charging
Depot charging can be the best strategy when you need the flexibility to operate on different routes, or when installing charging infrastructure along the route isn’t an option. The Volvo BZL Electric can be manually charged using a CCS cable in the depot, during breaks, off-peak or at night. The buses can be equipped with charging inlets in several locations to suit your depot layout. Double ports are also available.
| CCS |
| 250 kW max charge power |
Volvo’s usable energy commitment
The range of an electric bus depends on several factors. Together with the operator we determine the energy demand for the route, and then we guarantee that this capacity will be available. We offer this as the usable energy commitment, and your benefit is that there’s no need to worry about batteries anymore.
More about Volvo’s Usable energy commitment
Modular energy storage
Right-sizing your energy storage
Traction batteries are costly and resource-intensive. From a sustainability perspective there are good reasons to optimise the energy storage and avoid carrying battery cells as dead weight. The Volvo 7900 Electric is equipped with lithium-ion battery units, each with a capacity of 94 kWh. Choosing a lower number of batteries reduces the weight of the vehicle and thereby the energy consumption. Which means you can allow more passengers.
More about Volvo’s approach to batteries
Energy Storage System (ESS)
| NCA or LFP batteries |
| Up to 500 kWh battery capacity (nominal) |
| 600 V traction voltage |
| Brake energy regeneration |
Battery Management System
A bus battery’s lifetime will substantially increase if it is managed correctly, both in operation and in charging and maintenance. All Volvo electric buses feature a Battery Management System that controls all charging and discharging processes, and which also monitors battery health and performance.
Powertrain
Powerful and smooth
Volvo’s electric buses feature the powerful electric Volvo powertrain and optimised transmissions, delivering power and drivability for safe operation in the most demanding conditions. The powertrain can be configured as a single or dual motor unit with a power output corresponding to no less than 540 hp. This makes the Volvo BZL Electric an untiring hill climber and will allow for swift and smooth operation even on the tightest schedules.
| 200 kW max output / 2x200 kW for dual motors |
| 19,000 Nm max wheel torque / 31,000 Nm for dual motors |
All specifications
Hill start function
The Volvo BZL Electric is equipped with a Hill Start Aid, preventing the bus from rolling backwards when starting on hills. The feature guarantees safe starts with heavy loads even on a 20% uphill gradient.
Dual motors
The Volvo BZL Electric single deck version has the option of dual motors to ensure unrestrained performance also in extremely hilly environments. Fully laden, it can maintain more than 50 km/h on a 6% uphill gradient.
2-speed automated transmission
Gear changing is automatic and software-controlled. During gear shifting, the transmission program uses the electric motor to synchronise input and output shafts to speed up and optimise the comfort of the gear shift.
Safety features
Towards zero accidents
Active safety systems
Volvo offers an array of intelligent functions helping the driver to drive safely, avoid incidents and protecting from injuries and damage. Excellent visibility and ergonomics help the driver to stay focused and alert.
| Collision Warning with City Brake |
| Forward Collision Warning |
| Cruise Control |
| Intelligent Speed Assist |
| Side Collision Avoidance Support |
| Front Short Range Assist |
| Lane Change Support |
| Lane Keeping Support |
| Driver Alert Support |
| Tire Pressure Monitoring System |
Safer driving
Safety is a cornerstone already in the initial phases of our product development. Drivability, road handling and a predictable behaviour is the foundation for Volvo’s holistic safety architecture, aiming at our vision of zero accidents.
| I-Coaching |
| Safety Zones |
| Coaching Zones |
| Electronic Stability Control |
| AVAS – Acoustic Vehicle Alerting System |
Sourcing and circularity
Built with the planet in mind
Sustainable thinking pervades the entire life cycle of our vehicles. Our aim is to produce sustainable buses and coaches free from substances of concern, while respecting the environment and human rights. We apply a circular development process that improves our product’s sustainability profile. And we continuously reduce waste and emissions, optimize water use, and improve our handling of solvents, oils and chemicals.
Recyclability
90%
of the bus materials can be recycled
Recoverability
98%
of the bus materials can be recovered
Recoverability and recyclability rates according to ISO 22628
Source: The International EPD® System; www.environdac.com
Do more with your Volvo BZL Electric
Driver's handbook
Download the driver’s handbook for your specific vehicle as a PDF for free.
Service manuals
Are you maintaining your own fleet? Volvo keeps an online library of service manuals and wiring diagram, for your convenience.
Get access to service manuals
Find spare parts
Volvo dealers offer stock parts and can assist with special orders. For regular orders, you can also register to order parts online.
Get driver training
Volvo offers driver training, for improved passenger satisfaction, environmental performance and energy efficiency. Start today!
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