Favorite of the stars

The Prevost, which celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, enjoys this reputation in the luxury car market. Of course, this market is the tip of the iceberg of what the Volvo subsidiary produces.

“We are the most diversified manufacturer in the industry. Because we cover three main market segments, namely the passenger bus sector for sports teams, tourist tours or intercity routes such as Quebec-Montreal, such as Orléans Express or Greyhound. This is our first segment.”

— François Tremblay, CEO of Prevost

The second is the public sector. In North America, two of us are active in this segment. Regarding the contract announced in December for New York City. This is the largest contract in our history, worth $447 million,” he adds.

A special place for Prevost is the conversion market. “We are the only one in North America and even in the world… And these are luxury motorhomes. Vehicles for the world of music and special vehicles such as the command centers of the Quebec police or the FBI, repeats Mr. Tremblay. Other manufacturers tried to enter the third market, but they saw that our presence was so strong and that customers trusted Prevost.”

Strong in North America

However, Prevost’s presence is concentrated in North America. “The only place we might see the Prevost outside of North America is Saudi Arabia… The reason we export little or nothing to Europe is simple: it’s because we’ve been part of the Volvo Group since 2005,” explains the CEO. . The Volvo brand also covers other markets outside North America. This avoids competition between us.”

In Europe the roads are narrower than in North America. “We often see Class B cars, such as modified Mercedes Sprinters. It’s somewhat similar to the type of vehicles that are popular there.”

A bus built at the Prevost plant can contain between 8,500 and 12,000 parts, depending on the model and options ordered. Volvo engines are manufactured at the Volvo Group’s powertrain plant in Hagerstown, Maryland.

“Customers are very happy with our engines. We still see buses with 1.5 million miles on them that require no repairs. These are engines that last a very long time,” says Mr. Tremblay.

The Sainte-Claire de Bellechasse plant produces up to three buses per day. In May the rate will increase to four per day.

In the case of motor vehicles, buses are produced empty and then transferred to a recycler who handles the interior finishing.

“We can deliver the bus primed and the transformer will paint it. “There are people who want paintings that can cost $200,000 or more,” Mr. Tremblay says. They are almost works of art. There are some that take 20 days to make…”

Famous clients

In addition to Taylor Swift – a “longtime client” – or Joe Biden and Donald Trump during their election campaign, other famous people are loyal to Prevost. American intelligence agencies purchased two buses for the American president’s trips.

“They spent a month at the plant before taking possession of the machines. One of the buses [celui qui transporte le président] named Ground Team One– says Mr. Tremblay. In the world of music, each of us has A-listers [les grandes vedettes]. Beyoncé is using 30 cars for the tour she is currently doing. Madonna will need about fifteen. When I was at Daytona, I slept in the car that was leaving for Madonna’s tour the following week.

Finally, Prevost is also the official car supplier for NASCAR teams. “We’re trying to recreate the same thing with the PGA. Our goal is to try to create villages with amusement parks for children and babysitting services, so that runners or athletes do not have to run to the hotel during competitions,” concludes Mr. Tremblay.

The bus from the past has risen

To commemorate Prévost’s 100th birthday, Eugène Prévost’s descendants reproduced the first bus produced by the company in 1924. Clarissa In honor of Eugene Prévost’s wife, who was very active in the company, the bus was rebuilt from a 1923 REO truck found in Florida.

The team started with a black and white photograph of the first bus. Availability Clarissa was announced at the end of January 2024 during the company’s centenary celebrations. The tour of Prevost service centers in the USA and Canada continues.

September 14 will culminate the centenary celebrations with, among other things, an open house at the Sainte-Claire plant and a meeting of Prevost motorhome owners in Quebec. There are expected to be at least 160 motorhomes there.

A reproduction of the first bus produced by Prevost in 1924 was called Clarissain honor of the wife of the company’s founder, Eugene Prévost. (Prevost)

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGE

Essentially, everything related to public transport is part of sustainable development. According to Prevost, this is a big problem.

“In recent years we have worked hard to consume less electricity. “We have switched to less toxic welding gases that produce less smoke,” explains François Tremblay, CEO of Prevost. There is a lot of recycling in our processes. Even the cardboard boxes we receive the assemblies in are reused for gardening.”

This even applies to soil removed from land that was used for parking. “This money was redistributed to farmers in the region,” adds Mr. Tremblay.

“We work hard to reduce the impact of our vehicles. It all started with our current diesel cars. In our latest H model we worked hard to improve aerodynamics. With this vehicle we have achieved fuel savings of up to 12%. […] We expect diesel engines will still be around for the next 25 years.”

Regarding bus electrification, Prévost says he is working with the Quebec government on an electrification program for 2026.

“But the next step is hydrogen,” he said. Because electrification will only be for certain market segments, such as employee and airport shuttles or city buses such as in New York. We understand that there are many long-distance routes where electricity is not practical. This is where hydrogen could become an interesting method of propulsion.”

The Volvo Group, which includes Prevost, has set a goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.

This article is part of the magazine Le Soleil Businessalso available in full electronic version.