10 new Volvo electric buses in Luxembourg City. Towards a full electric fleet by 2030

Luxembourg City has welcomed a new batch of 10 Volvo 7900 Electric buses, following a Europe-wide call for tenders issued in 2019. The contract was awarded to Volvo Bus in January 2020 (although the number of vehicles was at that time disclosed to be 17), and the buses were delivered in November 2020.

In the capital city of the small European country of Luxembourg there are already some 70 buses powered by electricity running under the flag of bus operator AVL (Autobus de la ville de Luxembourg)

Electric buses from Volvo in Luxembourg City

The new fully electric buses were unveiled on Tuesday, 15 December 2020. The City has set ambitious goals for cutting CO₂ emissions. Replacing all fossil-powered buses with electric ones between 2025 and 2030 is an important step towards achieving these goals, the City points out in a press release.

Since City and subcontractors’ buses cover some 13.7 million kilometres a year – the equivalent of circling the globe once a day, Monday through Friday – this change will slash toxic emissions and drastically improve air quality in Luxembourg City.

Two full electric lines in Luxembourg City

The 10 new electric buses in the AVL network will run on lines 9 and 14. As diesel-powered buses need around 40 litres of fuel to travel 100 kilometres, this transition will help save around 301,000 litres of fuel per year, the institution points out.

Since subcontractors will also be operating electric buses on these two routes, lines 9 and 14 will be fully electrified, leading to further fuel savings. This means that total annual fuel consumption will fall by around 440,000 litres – the equivalent of 1,161 tonnes of CO₂ – over the 1.1 million kilometres covered by buses on lines 9 and 14 every year.

The new 12-metre-long buses from Volvo Buses can carry up to 86 passengers. The buses are equipped with a 264 kWh battery. As the buses are highly flexible in terms of the charging technologies they support, they can be charged quickly along the route at OppCharge stations – such as those found at the “Cents, Waassertuerm” stop – or at the depot with Combo2 connectors.

Volvo e-buses in Luxembourg City

During the press conference, the Alderman for mobility Patrick Goldschmidt said: “The City has been working to make our capital cleaner and quieter while also striving to improve the quality of public transport for passengers. We have achieved an important milestone with the recent extension of the tram to Luxembourg Central Station, and will continue to work hard when it comes to the other modes of public transport, particularly the AVL buses, which operate day and night throughout Luxembourg City’s 24 districts.”