Spheros, the specialist in heating, air conditioning, and thermal management systems for buses, has been independent from its former parent Valeo for nearly a year now, and company CEO Mark Sondermann wants people to know it. “We are no longer constrained by the strategic priorities of a larger group,” he told Truck & Bus Builder. “There is now only one priority, and that’s Spheros.” Following the Valeo acquisition in 2016, Spheros adopted its parent’s name; the reclamation of its own name marks a definitive break with the recent past. And the change is a timely one: “We can now be more agile. We can take faster decisions. It gives us the room to act in this very exciting and very dynamic market.”

It is less than a year since German automotive components giant Schaeffler merged with Vitesco Technologies Group to form a single “motion technology company”. Retaining the Schaeffler name, the new company is now in the process of combining the two product lines of Schaeffler and Vitesco together under a single brand. At the company’s stand at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo – held between 28 April and 1 May in Anaheim, California – the two companies’ portfolios were nearly indistinguishable. It marked the first time that the newly-merged company presented itself as a supplier of comprehensive system solutions to the North American commercial vehicle market.

Phillips has launched three different kits for retrofitting its ‘Rear-Vu’ range of cameras for Class 8 trucks and trailers.

This accreditation means the bus can operate “on a planned route without a driver in the cab,” significantly expanding Karsan’s autonomous e-bus operations beyond existing deployments in Italy,  Switzerland and Finland.