Since 1977 the Volvo plant in the Swedish city Borås manufactured 200.000 bus chassis, including the latest electric chassis BZL. The chassis number 200.000 was celebrated in the factory. The Borås plant produces bus chassis for the global markets. With the celebration Volvo announced it will ramp up production of the latest BZL electric chassis.
Even though number 200 000 was an BZL Electric, over 50 different chassis models have been made in Borås and some of the most popular models were Volvo B10M, Volvo B7R/B7RLE and the Volvo B11R. The Borås factory is Volvo's industrial hub for chassis production for global markets and relies solely on renewable energy. All the energy that the factory uses comes from renewable sources, such as hydropower and biofuels. In recent years, as Volvo states, the factory has implemented a number of measures that together cut energy consumption by 15 percent.
One of the measures is that the lighting in the factory is turned into LED and is regulated automatically so it is only active during actual production. Also electricity-consuming equipment is switched on only when it its needed. Another example to reduce the plant’s climate footprint, is the Borås factory’s participation in Autofreight, a project designed to reduce transportation between the Viared Logistics Park and the Port of Gothenburg. It’s a solution that from the start helped to cut CO2 emissions by about 30 percent. The factory has capacity for the production of approximately 10,000 bus chassis every year, built by a workforce of about 300 people.