All-electric Volvo bus fleet begins Luxembourg operation

The first commercially-produced all-electric Volvo buses started operating in the Luxembourg city of Differdange this month.

Bus operator Sales-Lentz is running the new vehicles. It now has four electric buses, 12 electric hybrids, and 30 hybrids from Volvo Bus in its fleet.

“The Volvo 7900 Electric starting operations marks yet another important step for all of us who work for a cleaner, quieter urban environment and more attractive public transport,” says Volvo Buses president Håkan Agnevall.

“Together with Differdange and Sales-Lentz, we are in the vanguard of next-generation public transport,” he says.

Differdange’s focus on electrically powered buses is part of the city’s sustainability drive, with public transport forming a crucial focus area.

The four electric Volvo buses travel on four different routes with length from 8 to 9.5 km.

After driving each bus for approximately 25 minutes, the batteries are fast-charged in three to six minutes at the end stations using an open interface known as OppCharge (opportunity charging).

Heliox supplied the charging stations in Differdange.

“Full electric was the next logical step after electric-hybrid, ahead in our strategy for sustainable urban mobility. We have done this turn-around in nine months with a team formed by Volvo Gothenburg, Volvo Competence Center in Luxembourg, the city of Differdange, Heliox, ElectroWatt, Sales-Lentz technical department, and several other partners”, says Sales-Lentz director Jos Sales.

In addition to the all-electric Volvo 7900 Electric, the Volvo Buses range of electrified vehicles includes hybrid buses and electric hybrid buses (plug-in hybrids).

The company has sold more than 3300 electrified Volvo buses globally.