Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, and with offices in Gothenburg, Sweden and Brescia, Italy, Cespira was formed by the two companies to commercialise Westport’s high-pressure direct injection technology.

Representing a planned total investment of USD700m, the Monterrey plant is intended to supplement existing Volvo Group North America and Mack Trucks manufacturing activities across the border in the United States.

The Series B investments bring the Canadian startup’s total invested capital to USD280m.

By combining their assets and capital, the two European manufacturers will ultimately produce “software-defined” trucks which are capable of continually receiving updates over-the-air.

Electric vans developed under the joint venture, called 'Flexis SAS', will be serially manufactured at Sandouville, where Renault has produced over a million mid-sized vans (‘Trafic’) since it opened ten years ago.

The Swedish manufacturer announced its financial results for 2023, reporting net sales of SEK552.8bn and an adjusted operating income of SEK77.6bn.

Volvo says there is a burgeoning market in China for its heavy truck models, particularly in the premium segment.

On 12 January, Phoenix Motor announced that it had completed its acquisition of the Proterra Transit, and on 2 February, Volvo announced that its acquisition of Proterra Powered had completed.

Starting later this year, with a proposed finish date of 2029, the two doctoral students will aid Volvo in developing the internal combustion engine with hydrogen as a fuel.

The Eicher Pro 2055 EV has a gvw of 5.5t, a 4x2 axle configuration and is powered withby a 64kWh battery ranging upto 174km in a single charge.

The deal includes the Proterra development centre for battery modules and packs in California and an assembly factory in South Carolina. Whilst details remain sparse at this point, the deal is expected to close in early 2024 and remains subject to the approval of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Subject to regulatory approval, the joint venture will be launched in 2024, with both partners pledging to invest EUR300m each over the next three years.