History: Prevost Car

Prévost is manufacturer of coaches and recreational vehicles based in Québec, Canada. The company was acquired in 1995 by Volvo Buses

History

• In 1924 Les Atelieres Prévost, a small company just recently founded by Eugène Prévost (1898–1965) was asked to build a custom bus body for a new REO truck chassis. His business until that point was specialized in cabinets for church pews and school furniture. However after his first bus chassis he received several repeat orders. His business was so successful that between 1937 and 1939 he built a bus manufacturing plant.
• Up until the 1940s the buses were built around a wooden frame but then they've started switching to metal frames. In 1945 Eugène Prévost introduced the first all-metal body over an all-metal skeleton.
• By 1947 the plant has grown to 22,000 square feet and included metal and woodworking shops, die-casting and plating facilities and also a foundry.
• Between 1945 and 1957 Prevost gradually phased out all cabinet work and concentrated it's business on building highway motorcoaches.
• In 1957 the company was acquired by Paul Normand and functioned with this leadership until 1969 when two American businessmen ( Thomas B. Harbison and William G. Campbell ) formed a partnership with André Normand, President of Prévost at that time, to become the company's owners.
• In 1980 the plant was expanded to keep up with demand.
• In 1995 the company owners sold Prévost to Volvo Bus Corporation and Henlys Group plc
• In 2004 Volvo Bus Corporation became the sole owner of Prevost Car Inc.

Corporate affairs

As of June 2019, Prevost operates 15 parts and service centers in North America, nine of them in the United States.

Products

Prévost Car is also the North American distributer of the Volvo 9700 motorcoach.

Competitors

Further reading

Volvo Buses

See also

List of bus manufacturers