AUSTRALIA
Volgren, part of the Marcopolo group of companies, had a presence at Australia’s National Bus & Coach Show 2024, held on 17 and 18 September at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre.
New vehicles presented were the Volgren Optimus Electric, with both Yutong E12 and BYD BC12 ‘Blade 1’ chassis options, and the Volgren Optimus Hydrogen, developed in partnership with Wrightbus.
The Optimus city bus range has already been placed into service in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, and, says the manufacturer, is designed to suit various diesel, hybrid, electric and hydrogen chassis, and complies with the highest levels of quality, safety and flammability standards for buses in Australia. The new electric models have a range of up to 350 kilometres and are offered in different full-length options, ranging from 11.7m to 12.5m and have one of the lightest zero-emission bus bodies in their class, says Volgren, the result of thousands of hours of research and dynamic testing.
The Optimus Hydrogen began development in 2022, when the company signed a landmark agreement with Wrightbus to introduce the first hydrogen-powered fuel cell buses to the Australian market.
In addition to the launches, the company also exhibited the electric Volgren Optimus city bus with Volvo BZL chassis and the Marcopolo Audace 1050 inter-city coach, based on a Volvo B8R chassis and currently produced at Marcopolo’s Chinese factory.
With a market share of around 70%, Volgren is Australia’s largest bus manufacturer. The company built its first bus in 1979.
