India Gets Its First Hybrid Bus

Volvo Buses introduced India’s first hybrid bus on Sunday, and handed over the first batch of five such buses to Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC).

These buses run on diesel as well as an electric motor and battery. They consume up to 35% less diesel and help reduce CO2 emissions as well.

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The 8400 Hybrid City Bus uses electric power for most functions like air conditioning and operation of automatic doors. After starting on diesel, the bus takes off on electric mode till it gains momentum. This happens at every stop and start during the operation cycle, thus saving fuel.

After the Faster Adoption of Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) scheme was introduced in April 2015, this is the first commercial launch of a bus with hybrid technology in India. Under the scheme, manufacturers of hybrid and electric vehicles get a subsidy based on the type of the bus. According to reports, the Volvo 8400 hybrid is categorized as a strong hybrid and gets a subsidy of Rs. 61 lakh from the government.

One of the biggest advantages of these buses is that the noise level is decreased both inside and outside.

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Navi Mumbai has become India’s first city to adopt hybrid buses for public transport by placing an order of five such buses. Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven handed over a symbolic key of the bus to Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis. The buses are being locally assembled at Volvo’s facility in Bengaluru. Volvo Buses is the Indian subsidiary of Swedish automobile major Volvo.

“The technology enables up to 50 percent reduction in hazardous emissions in actual customer operations. We are confident that this initiative will spur demand from other cities in India for Volvo’s hybrid mobility solutions,” said Akash Passey, senior vice-president, business region international of Volvo Buses.

Volvo Buses will also conduct a five-day long driver training programme to train three drivers and help them understand the technology better.

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