Volvo Buses has recently delivered 1,500 buses to the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China, which opens officially on Saturday. The fleet includes 120 electric buses that will operate within the exhibition area.
The World Expo in Shanghai is expected to attract some 70 million visitors and will thereby become the largest world exposition ever. This represents a huge challenge for the City of Shanghai, particularly with regard to public transport.
In recent years, the city has invested heavily in expanding public transport in all traffic modes, particularly buses. Solely since the autumn, Volvo Buses has delivered 1,500 buses through its joint-venture company Sunwin Bus in Shanghai, of which 565 are the Volvo brand. Volvo Buses has built buses in Shanghai for ten years and currently more than 6,000 buses from Volvo operate in the city.
The theme for the World Expo is ”Better City, Better life” and finding environmentally friendly solutions for public transport has been the City of Shanghai’s goal. Among other requirements, this meant that the buses operating within the World Expo area could not discharge any exhaust emissions.
Accordingly, Sunwin Bus delivered 120 electric buses featuring engines powered by onboard batteries. Sunwin Bus also delivered 36 buses equipped with super capacitors that are rapidly charged when the buses halt at bus stops as well as 150 hybrid buses. The technologies for these buses of the future were developed by Sunwin Bus in cooperation with the other part-owner in the company, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.
”I am very proud that our company Sunwin Bus is contributing to such an extent in ensuring that the World Expo in Shanghai will be a great success,” says Rune Lundberg, Senior Vice President Volvo Buses Region International.
”Volvo Buses is working globally to find solutions that combine care for the environment with productivity. With our new products from Sunwin Buses, we are demonstrating what possibilities exist today and in the future.”
The World Expo is being inaugurated on May 1 and is open through October 31.
