Westport Innovations Inc., together with Volvo Car Sverige and Upplands Motor, announced that Sweden-based Fagelviksgruppen (FVG) has signed an agreement covering the purchase of 400 model-year 2016 Volvo V70 bi-fuel compressed natural gas (CNG) taxis. The deal also includes options for the purchase of up to 240 more of the vehicles.
The 2016 V70 bi-fuel vehicle features Westport technology and fuel systems and is based on Volvo’s new 2-liter, direct-injection, four-cylinder Drive-E powertrain family. Westport says the engine offers 245 HP and 350 NM in torque, with emissions as low as 41g CO2/km (according to the Swedish Transport Administration’s calculation method for biomethane).
FVG operates 6,000 taxis in fleets such as TaxiKurir, Taxi 020, Taxi Skane and TaxisNorge. Currently, the company uses older bi-fuel Volvo cars in the Stockholm area, but the new taxis will be deployed throughout Sweden.
“FVG is committed to reduce its environmental footprint. We have evaluated several different environmentally friendly cars and found that Volvo bi-fuel is a very attractive and a right choice as a taxi vehicle,” says Ole Oftedal, CEO of FVG.
“The Volvo V70 is already recognized as one of the top-selling taxi vehicles in Sweden. The new 2016 Volvo V70 bi-fuel offers fleets like FVG’s the reliability and fuel economy of the latest Volvo powertrain technology with the emissions benefits they seek,” says Per-Inge Kruse, customer director of Westport.
