Volvo to introduce India-made hybrid buses in 2016

Swedish automobile major Volvo announced on Monday it will introduce hybrid technology in India by supplying hybrid buses to Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) on a pilot basis in the first half of 2016.

"Hybrid buses are an important solution for cities that want to reduce vehicle emissions. I am very proud that Volvo is the first bus manufacturer to introduce hybrid buses in India," said Volvo Buses president Hakan Agnevall in a statement.

The hybrid buses will be manufactured in Volvo's facility at Bengaluru, the statement said.

The Swedish auto giant sold, to 20 countries, more than 2,300 hybrid buses which consume 39 percent lower fuel than regular diesel buses and help in cutting carbon dioxide emissions by the same amount and nitrogen oxides and particles by 50 percent, the statement said.

Currently, Volvo's electric hybrid buses offering a fuel saving of up to 75 percent are running in Gothenburg, Stockholm and Hamburg.

Volvo sold more than 5,000 hybrid and full electric buses across the world. In India, it sold over 5,300 buses since 2001 and about 1,500 of its buses are plying in 34 Indian cities.

In a bid to promote environmental-friendly vehicles, the Indian government recently launched Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric vehicles in India (FAME India) scheme packed with incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles.