By Wei Yu

The Volvo Group¡¯s developed platform for hybrid operation of heavy vehicles has been installed in several different types of vehicles and has been used to propel the Group¡¯s buses in traffic operations. The market performance of its hybrid vehicles exceeds expectation.

 

The Volvo Group has been testing various types of hybrid solutions since the 1980s and Volvo unveiled the first commercially viable hybrid solution for heavy vehicles in March 2006. The Volvo Group¡¯s solution is based on a concept known as I-SAM ¨C Integrated Starter, Alternator Motor. This solution entails that an electric motor and a diesel engine work in parallel, whereby each of them can be used in the areas where they are most effective.

 

The Volvo Group has developed about 20 different hybrid vehicles based on the Group¡¯s hybrid solution till now, including wheel loaders, buses and refuse collection trucks. In April, the Volvo 7700 Hybrid city bus had its world premiere. As a result of the hybrid technology, energy savings per passenger increase by up to 50-75% compared with if the passengers had chosen to drive by car. Since it is based on a platform solution, the market prospects for the Volvo Group¡¯s hybrid technology are favorable. The solution can be used for many different Volvo Group products and applications, thus reducing production costs and facilitating volume manufacturing. This is one of the most promising and competitive hybrid technologies for commercial vehicles and it has been assigned high priority within the Volvo Group.

Source£ºenglish.chinabuses.com