Volvo Buses and Spanish coachbuilder Castrosua have entered into a strategic collaboration for the joint development, production, and marketing of electric city buses in Spain. The partnership will see the integration of Volvo BZL Electric chassis with the Nelec body from Castrosua, with the first deliveries expected to transport companies by the end of 2024.
This collaboration follows Volvo Buses’ decision in March to cease the production of complete buses in Europe, redirecting its focus towards partnerships for the development of electric buses. Castrosua has previously partnered with BYD on electric buses, unveiling their first jointly developed model in May.
The strategic alliance aims to leverage the technical expertise and resources of both companies in the development of urban buses. Key focus areas include product quality monitoring, audits, and the adoption of environmentally sustainable practices, including circularity and material recycling. The companies anticipate delivering their first vehicle for real-world testing by the second quarter of 2024, with customer deliveries targeted for the end of the same year.
In September, Volvo Buses finalized an agreement with Egyptian company MCV for the production of bodies for its electric city buses, extending to both the 7900 Electric and 7900 Electric Articulated models, as well as a future intercity electric bus.
Grupo Castrosua, headquartered in Santiago de Compostela and celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, positions itself as a leading chassis production company in Spain. Beatriz Castro, CEO of Grupo Castrosua, expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration with Volvo Buses, stating, “We are very happy to announce our collaboration with Volvo Buses to manufacture electric buses, convinced that it will be a very interesting new proposal for the market and, without a doubt, this agreement strengthens our objective of achieving strategic alliances of value.”
