Volvo Buses wants MCV (Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles) to produce bodies for its electric buses in the city and intercity segments in the European markets from next year. This is provided for in a memorandum of understanding between the two companies.

Volvo Buses had previously decided not to manufacture complete buses in Europe itself in future. The agreement now concluded provides for MCV to produce bodies under licence for the Volvo 7900 Electric and 7900 Electric Articulated city buses with both two and three axles from the summer of 2024. These e-buses are scheduled for delivery to customers in Europe from early 2025.

Volvo Buses and MCV also plan to jointly develop an electric intercity bus offering. However, details of the planned vehicle for the intercity segment are not yet known.

Volvo Buses will continue to manufacture the chassis including the electric drives, and the existing production for this at the two Swedish plants in Borås and Uddevalla will also be retained. However, the Volvo plant in Wroclaw, Poland, where the bodies for the chassis are currently manufactured, is to be closed by the first quarter of 2024. The bodies with bodywork and the interior, on the other hand, are to come from MCV in future.

MCV, or Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles, is a company from Egypt that, as reported, also wants to gain a foothold in Germany with its own electric city bus. MCV has plants in Egypt, Singapore and South Africa and was once founded as a general agency of Daimler. Since 2006, MCV has been producing vehicles under its own brand name, which are mostly based on chassis from other manufacturers – such as Mercedes-Benz, but also Volvo Buses.

The Swedish company therefore describes MCV in the press release as “one of Volvo Buses’ most important partners”, as bodies have already been successfully delivered to customers in the UK. Based on the BZL Electric chassis, Metroline, for example, operates e-buses from the duo, while Stagecoach recently ordered 170 MCV buses with Volvo chassis.

“We are very pleased that we have deepened our partnership with MCV since they have both the experience and the competence to produce bodies of the highest quality, meeting European standards and demands,” says Dan Pettersson, senior vice president at Volvo Buses. “By cooperating with an external bodybuilder, we will have greater flexibility to better meet market requirements and customer demands.”

The cooperation is not exclusive, however: in parallel to the partnership with MCV, Volvo Buses says it is “exploring additional offers with other bodybuilders”.

volvobuses.com