A brand new Transperth bus will hit the road next week and, in doing so, will become the 2,000th vehicle to be manufactured at Volgren Australia's Malaga factory.
In a relationship that has spanned more than 20 years, Volgren has delivered close to 1,800 buses to the Public Transport Authority, with Volgren's milestone coming just a few months after Volvo Australia delivered their 1,000th Transperth bus in early October.
Volgren, which employs more than 60 people, first began making bus bodies for Transperth in 1999 and has continued through a variety of business partnerships with other chassis manufacturers.
In 2019, the State Government entered into a new contract with Volgren Australia and Volvo Australia to deliver 900 new Transperth buses over 10 years.
The bus chassis are built at Volvo's headquarters in Sweden, before being delivered to Volgren's Malaga factory. Volgren then builds the bus body and fits out the vehicles using 85 per cent of Australian content, of which more than half is from Western Australian suppliers.
The contract also includes the manufacture of buses for the Joondalup CAT electric bus trial beginning in 2022.
As stated by Transport Minister Rita Saffioti:
"Supporting local manufacturing is a key priority of our Government, and I'm pleased to see Volgren's Malaga facility continue to produce high-quality buses for our public transport network.
"We recently entered a new contract with Volvo and Volgren which will see another 900 buses produced over the next 10 years, supporting local jobs and opportunities for local WA businesses through the supply chain.
"This contract includes the delivery of the very first electric CAT buses which will be trialled along the Joondalup route in 2022.
"Congratulations to Volgren and I look forward to continuing to support and celebrate the achievements of local manufacturers for years to come."
