Volvo Buses has announced a new electric bus that will join its line-up of electric passenger transport solutions. The new bus will feature a roof-mounted pantograph that the company have called the panto up.
Currently, Volvo Buses has two current electric model charging solutions in their line-up. The first is the Combo2/CCS inlet using a DC fast-charging system at the depot and the second, OppCharge, that charges via a charging station-mounted pantograph, known as panto down, at bus stops or depots.
In Europe, both panto up and panto down solutions are the two fast-charging standards used by bus and transport companies. It usually depends on the city or the transport agency as to which system is used. As a result, Volvo has extended its fleet to help with clean passenger transport in the future.
The Volvo Buses panto up solution is based on the very latest technology from Schunk, featuring such benefits as compact installation and low additional on-board weight. Panto up will be available as an alternative for the Volvo 7900 Electric and Volvo 7900 Electric Articulated in Europe from autumn 2021.
Ulf Magnusson, SVP Business Unit Europe at Volvo Buses, said: “With a flexible range of alternatives for charging buses, we meet the varied demands and wishes of our customers and pave the way for quicker and easier transition to electrified bus traffic.”
