Volvo is very proud of its all-new premium 9900 coach; it’s taken five years to design and presumably a large amount of cash, although Volvo doesn’t discuss such things.
In a clever presentation Volvo Design Director Dan Frykholm used a black model to project images onto, explaining the design thinking.
The design philosophy he says, is to “add emotional value” to the product. “The driver’s cab is “calm and collected,” the passenger seats “expressive” while the front has a “powerful Volvo stance injecting energy and power through its impressive height and volume.”
The “rounded front and roof” give a “friendly and decisive face that is non-aggressive, almost smiling but not so much that it looks stupid.”
With “clear cuts and joints” in its bodywork its “sting are the lights, which forms its eyes.”
He adds: “It knows something, it wants something.” This is the language of car design, but good industrial design is not new.
And, as it’s a Volvo, safety remains a core value, yet it appears without compromise. This means, for example, that passengers at the front don’t have a large side pillar.
But most of all, says Volvo Bus President, Håkan Agnevall: “When we started this project, we had a vision for our customers: We wanted to make it really easy to buy, own and drive a Volvo coach.”
So, operators will be pleased to know, there’s a new range of finance options, including operating leases. Now that should be a crowd pleaser.
