In Brazil, the manufacturer will be working with the Clinton Climate Initiative organization. The two organizations already deployed the first hybrid in Curitiba, Brazil, in collaboration with URBS, the local mass transportation operator, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and even the Colombian capital Bogota.
In Mexico, a Volvo 7700 Hybrid will be tested in Mexico City, on a historic center. The same bus will be used during the COP 16 climate conference in Cancun.
The buses use the parallel hybrid I-SAM technology, developed to be used by the entire Volvo Group. This type of hybrid bus is powered by a combination of an electric motor and a diesel engine and it can be powered by either source independently, or in combination drawing on both power sources at the same time.
According to Volvo, the system provides a fuel economy improvement of 35 percent, the same percentage representing the reduction in greenhouse-gas carbon emissions. The buses also use brake energy recuperation.
“Volvo currently has the world’s most efficient hybrid solution,” said Edward Jobson, Environment Manager at Volvo Buses. “It generates substantial environmental gains regardless of whether it is used in heavy city traffic or sparse traffic, and even where distances between bus stops are long.”
“I am convinced that hybrid buses will dominate city traffic globally in a few years’ time and Volvo has great prospects of becoming one of the largest suppliers of such buses.”
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