UK - The 2024 Commercial Vehicle Show in Birmingham from 23 – 25 April, was a somewhat sombre affair without the truck OEMs, yet plenty of exhibitors turned up to display their new product offerings. Of course, the T&BB team was in attendance to bring you all the latest news from the show.

Canoo

Probably the most memorable stand was new American eLCV manufacturer Canoo Inc based in Torrance, California, which showed a van in two sizes (LDV 130 van and the larger LDV 190) and a pick-up truck, all production vehicles. The specifications are still to be released by Canoo. T&BB spoke with Greg Ethridge, the Chief Financial Officer of Canoo, who confirmed that the company will ship six vehicles to the U.S. postal service and has an agreement with supermarket behemoth Walmart, for the purchase of 4,500 vehicles. He said they have plans to enter the UK market in 2025.

Canoo stand at CV Show 2024

Ethridge confirmed that Canoo had indeed purchased manufacturing assets (robotics and machinery equipment) from now defunct, Arrival Ltd of London, UK. Importantly, none of the vehicle designs or patents of the former Arrival company have been purchased - it is purely assets, which are believed to have been bought and delivered for the Arrival facility in Bicester, Oxfordshire. The manufacturing assets are set to be shipped from Bicester to the Canoo manufacturing facility in Oklahoma City, OK, in the USA. Ethridge confirmed that they were the only bidder and purchased the equipment, often “unwrapped” at a “deep discount.” He added that this of course reduces capital expenditure when compared to purchasing new equipment and allows Canoo to deliver its 2025 electric pickup trucks on time and at lower cost.

Arrival’s manufacturing assets included equipment supporting cabin production processes such as robots, dispensing systems, advanced control equipment, PLC controllers (Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) are industrial computers, with various inputs and outputs, used to control and monitor industrial equipment based on custom programming) and equipment supporting general assembly capacity expansion such as advanced safety equipment, manipulators, high-tech dynamic vehicle testing equipment and other spare equipment parts.

B-ON and Chery JV

Numerous announcements were coming from electric LCV manufacturer B-ON GmbH, which used the show to announce a joint venture with Chinese passenger car manufacturer, Chery Automobile Co. Ltd. to develop, produce and sell all-electric commercial vehicles. B-On will contribute the majority of the product design, engineering development and R&D taking place in Coventry, UK, with Chery handling the production. T&BB interviewed Boris Pilichowski, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at B-On Group, who informed us that the partnership was a perfect union, with Chery having the necessary manufacturing base to support mass-market demand.

Available in mid-2024, the JV launched the Pelkan electric light commercial vehicle (eLCV) featuring a payload of 1,350kgs and a battery configuration of either 43 or 54 kWh providing a range of up to 226 and 279 km, respectively. The vehicle was designed to be more ergonomic for drivers and thus more cost-competitive for business owners than comparable offerings in its class. The vehicle will also be equipped with B-ON’s new fleet telematics system “B-ON Connect.” This software was developed in-house in Switzerland. The vehicle will be available in right-hand drive in 2025.

B-ON Pelkan

Maxus

Harris Group, the sole European distributor for car and van manufacturer SAIC Maxus Automotive Co Ltd (“Maxus”) of Shanghai, China, was in attendance to debut the Maxus eDeliver 5 LCV. Available in August this year, the vehicle is equipped with a 120kW drive producing up to 240Nm of torque. The 64kWh battery provides a range of 208 miles (335km) on a single charge. With a 1200kg payload, the LCV is offered in one length and two roof heights with 6 m³ or 7.6 m³ load volume. Safety features include lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assistance, 360-degree surrounding camera and rear sensor.

Mark Barrett, managing director of group franchises at Harris Group, said: “Since 2016, we have introduced 10 superb commercial and passenger vehicles to the UK market, eight of which are fully electric. Our latest products are yet another example of our e-vehicle market leadership and our unmatched ambition to continually build on our range. The eDeliver 5 combines impressive range with adaptable design.”

Maxus eDeliver 5 at the 2024 CV Show.

Electra

Electra Commercial Vehicles Ltd were busy at the CV Show, making numerous announcements. We spoke to Andrew Holliday, Sales Manager at Electra who told us about the plan to enter the upcycling (repowering) business with the launch of Electra Exchange. Electra will be repowering internal combustion engine CVs to battery electric. This comes at a fortuitous time with the demise of fellow upcycling British firm, Lunaz Group Ltd, which declared bankruptcy earlier this year. This will of course provide an opportunity to hire possibly some of the engineers working there. Benjamin Smith, Managing Director of Electra said: “We’re constantly on the lookout for bright minds who resonate with our vision for a sustainable future powered by electric transportation. We eagerly anticipate welcoming new team members who will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of the commercial EV industry.”

In other news, the company’s electric heavy goods division has moved into a new HQ in Brighouse, West Yorkshire, UK. The new site provides the opportunity to expand its capacity and drive further product innovation. Electra is looking to scale production across its entire portfolio (battery-electric and hydrogen fuel-cell electric commercial vehicles). Furthermore, the facility houses a dedicated R&D centre (“Product Innovation Hub”) and a training centre for both staff and customers with technical training on Electra products. Smith continued: “We’re embarking on an exciting new chapter for Electra Commercial Vehicles. Our new Brighouse facility equips us with the space and resources essential not just for streamlining operations, but also promotes our dynamic culture and expertise that fuels collaboration and innovation. This relocation underscores the dedication and hard work of our exceptional team, positioning us perfectly to catapult our growth trajectory.”

The Electra new Brighouse facility

Advanced Electric Machines

The CV Show afforded T&BB the opportunity to meet with Paige Almack, marketing executive, and Richard Lidstone-Scott, Business Consultant at Advanced Electric Machines Ltd (AEM) based in Washington, UK, a spin-off from Newcastle University's electric motor research team, which is commercialising its electric motors for industry. The company had a raft of announcements at the show as it aims to become a tier 1 supplier, mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Dana and Bosch.

Almack explained that the electric motors are permanent magnet free and use no rare earth metals, making the electric motors entirely recyclable. The unique and patented technology means the HDSRM300 series, designed for CV applications, can offer all the performance and efficiency benefits of a conventional permanent magnet motor without the considerable environmental drawbacks. This means that for AEM to manufacture the electric motors it does not require the mining of rare earth elements such as neodymium and dysprosium, which have significant environmental impacts both locally and globally. This is undoubtedly the company’s unique selling point (USP).

As well as rare earth metals, traditional permanent magnet motors use copper windings. At the end of life, the copper must be removed from the motor before recycling, making the process difficult and expensive. AEM technologies can be produced using only steel and aluminium, meaning they can be recycled quickly, cost-effectively and completely. Lidstone-Scott pointed out that by removing magnets this eliminates the risk of demagnetisation as temperatures increase at higher rotational speeds, it also reduces cooling requirements and allow motors to run faster. Another key advantage is that the electric motor can ‘freewheel’, which means the vehicle can coast when needed, improving motor efficiency. The company already has a commercial rare-earth metal-free motor (HDSRM 300) in production and in use in electric buses, trucks and other vehicles in Europe and the Asia Pacific.

The company has used the GBP 23 million in series A funding* to scale up both production and staff at their factory in the North East of England. Today, they can produce up to 12,000 units in a facility with a fully flexible production line, meaning it can be any of the products for passenger cars, commercial vehicles or micro vehicles. They have an order book with customers such as Tevva Motors Ltd.  

AEM’s HDSRM300 series

The company has also been working with axle specialist, SAF-HOLLAND GmbH to develop the latest edition of the SAF TRAKr regenerative braking axle, which is set to go into series production this year. Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the companies in 2021, AEM will be supplying the HDSRM150 Series electric motor for the SAF TRAKr regenerative braking axle. It uses recuperation, which converts the vehicle's kinetic energy into electrical energy. This is temporarily stored in a lithium-ion battery and then used for auxiliary units in the trailer, such as pumps or cooling systems. Recuperation as an additional source of power generation saves fuel, while reducing noise and exhaust emissions from the vehicle.

The company also has a working relationship with Adgero UK Ltd a young startup, based in Hampshire, UK, which provides electric hybridisation solutions for trucks. At the CV show, AEM showcased its HDSRM300 motor in Adgero’s retrofit kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) solution. Designed for most rigid trucks of between 12 tons and 32 tons gvw, this system combines AEM’s electric motors with ultracapacitors and heavy-duty power electronics to offer a bolt-in retrofit solution to hybridise existing combustion vehicles with fuel and CO₂ emissions savings of up to 28%.

*Series A funding was led by UK-based asset management firm, Legal & General and Barclays Sustainable Impact Capital. The capital is to be invested in its factory in the North East, creating 40 new jobs over the next two years