Volvo disagrees:
New Volvo BZL electric chassis
Instead of going with the hub-motor drives of typical Chinese buses - Volvo have utilised a parallel twin-motor arrangement through a 2-speed automated manual gearbox with conventional diff (reverse is done electrically by spinning the motors backwards when required). 2-speed box gives a increased speed range, better efficiency across the speed range, and (probably) more compliant suspension. One's currently in Perth with a second to follow shortly, more coming throughout next year. It's also features a locally built body (by Volgren, a separate company to Volvo despite the similarity in names).