Nova Bus receives significant e-bus order from Québec

Nova Bus, a Canadian subsidiary of Volvo Group, has announced its largest electric bus order to date. The North American manufacturer will supply four transit authorities in Quebec with a total of 24 e-buses starting in 2022.

Nova Bus points out, this new order was part of a $30 million funding package coming through both the federal and provincial authorities.

“This announcement shows the governments’ willingness to support the electrification of transportation in Quebec significantly,” said Martin Larose, President of Nova Bus. “The collective effort for this green shift is essential in the industry.”

Nova Bus will deliver the first e-buses in 2022, followed by the others in 2023 and 2024. A total of ten buses, including five options are for the Réseau de transport de Longueuil (RTL), two buses for the Société de transport de l’Outaouais (STO), two buses for the Société de transport de Trois-Rivières and ten buses for the Société de transport de Sherbrooke (STS).

At RTL, the largest client based in the city of Longueuil, the Mayor, Catherine Fournier, expects more than half of the 200-strong bus fleet to be electric by 2030.

All four orders rely on Nova Bus’ latest EV model LSFe+. Built since 2019 as an upgrade to the previous LFSe model, introduced in North America in 2011, both electric bus types use the combustion engine model’s platform.

In the LSFe+, the electric drive is coupled with BAE Systems’ power electronics. While the press release for the Québec order is devoid of technical details, Nova Bus on the website specifies a battery capacity of up to 564 kWh for a range of 470 km. In addition, the LSFe+ can charge at the depot or connect to overhead lines. The total capacity is 68 passengers (41 seated) for the 12-metre model.

Nova Bus has production lines in the Saint-Eustache and Saint-François-du-Lac plants, which handle the final assembly and manufacturing of the vehicle chassis and other components in Québec.

newswire.ca (PI), novabus.com (LSFe+)