Volvo B6
The Volvo B6 was a midibus chassis built by Volvo from 1991 to 1999. It came in two main forms: the standard B6 and the low‑entry B6LE. In the UK it competed with buses like the Dennis Dart and MAN HOCL.
The B6 was offered in several lengths, roughly 8.5 m, 9.0 m, and 9.9 m, plus a 9.1 m coach version (B6‑45). The low‑entry floor option appeared for left‑hand drive in 1995, with right‑hand drive arriving later.
Manufacturing started with pre‑production in Vienna, Austria, but full production moved to Irvine, Scotland, in 1993. In the UK, Volvo delivered about 627 B6s between 1993 and 1997. The B6‑45 coach version sold slowly in the UK, and only a small number were built (the last went to the Russian embassy in 1998).
The B6LE was introduced in 1995 to boost sales in right‑hand drive markets and eventually replaced many B6 sales by 1997 in some areas. A total of 394 UK‑built B6LEs were produced from 1995 to 1999, with some used as testbeds for the forthcoming B6BLE, which appeared in 1999.
Engines and transmission: The B6 used a 5.5‑litre inline‑six turbodiesel. It started with the TD63 engine (1991–1995) and switched to the D6A engine (1995–1999). Transmission was an Allison/ZF 4HP500. In the UK, many B6s wore Alexander ALX200 bodies.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:18 (CET).