Volvo Buses India has secured its largest-ever order in the country from the Maharashtra State Transport Corporation (MSRTC), covering 200 buses for intercity public transportation in Maharashtra, including 30 sleeper buses.
The company said on Wednesday that the order comprises 170 seater buses and 30 sleeper buses. It described the procurement as a significant commitment to strengthening premium intercity public transportation in the state.
The order is the single-largest secured by Volvo Buses in India, according to the company. The announcement provides the quantity and configuration of the vehicles but does not specify the routes on which they will operate, the delivery schedule, the total contract value or the expected date on which services will begin.
The buses will be manufactured at Volvo’s facilities in Hoskote. The company said the Volvo 9600 model is available in both seater and sleeper configurations, matching the two vehicle types included in the MSRTC order.
Suresh Chettiar, Executive Vice President of the Bus Division at VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd, said the order reflected a shared commitment to improving travel and making premium passenger experiences more accessible to citizens of Maharashtra.
The procurement places both seater and sleeper formats within the same intercity public transport order. Seater buses are intended for conventional passenger journeys, while sleeper buses provide a different onboard configuration for longer-distance travel. The company did not provide further details on the interiors, passenger capacity, onboard facilities or operating standards for the vehicles.
For MSRTC, the announcement represents a large, clearly defined addition to its intercity bus procurement programme, although the supplied information does not establish how the 200 buses will be allocated across depots, corridors or services. It also does not state whether the buses will replace existing vehicles, expand the fleet or serve newly planned operations.
The order comes as premium bus services form part of the wider public transport choices available for travel between cities in Maharashtra. However, the announcement contains no information on fares, ticketing arrangements, maintenance contracts, staffing requirements or the financial terms agreed between MSRTC and Volvo Buses India.
The next publicly stated steps are the manufacture of the Volvo 9600 buses at Hoskote and their supply to MSRTC. Details on delivery milestones, deployment locations and the start of passenger operations were not provided in the company announcement.
