HAVE THEY GOT THE MESSAGE?

摘要

It would be nice to think that if the past nine years have taught the Volvo Bus Corporation's top Swedish management anything, it's that they really ought to listen to their people on the ground in the UK. And that they now realise pan-European city buses don't make right-hand-drive vehicles with a decent number of seats where we expect to find them. For that is what lies behind the launch of the low-entry B7RLE (News last month) with which Volvo hopes to regain lost business for 12m single-deckers. Volvo's difficulty is that life used to be oh-so-simple when it genuinely had one product for most world markets. Before the advent of low floors ruined its versatility, the mid-engined B10M was a formidable coach, single-deck bus, articulated bus or coach and even a double-decker.