Volvo Buses has officially revealed its brand-new 18-metre, 57-seat Volvo BZL Electric Articulated bus in Australia.
Built on the company’s own low-floor, fully electric articulated chassis, the vehicle is bodied locally by Volgren, the country’s largest bus body manufacturer, which possesses production facilities in Victoria, Western Australia and Queensland.
Volvo’s BZL Electric (rigid) bus has been in operation in Australia since 2022, when the Public Transport Authority of Western Australia (PTA) became the very-first transit operator in the country to deploy Volvo electric buses with Volgren Optimum bodies.
To date, over 140 Volvo BZL Electric buses have entered operation nationally, with the platform now fully backed by an established base of technical knowledge, operator confidence and local support.
Mark Fryer, Director, Product & Industry, Volvo Buses Asia Pacific, said:This is a genuine ‘Australia first’, and the Volvo BZL Electric Articulated has been built right here in Perth.
It was developed with the Australian market in mind, and specifically to meet the needs of the PTA, an operator we have partnered with for more than a decade. Bringing a brand-new electric platform to market, locally bodied and tailored to the needs of the Perth transit network, is something we are incredibly proud of.
Equipped with 12 LFP batteries, the Volvo BZL Electric Articulated bus features a total installed energy of 497 kWh, and utilises a EPT802 Dual Motor (2 x 200kW).
