The manufacturer is trialling a new autonomous driving feature, developed in-house, which allows buses to drive into and out of passenger stops independently of the driver.

The truck developed by Scania is a 230-kW series hybrid running primarily on battery-electric power, with a 120-kW petrol-powered generator to provide backup energy.

This investment enables the company to respond to the growing demand for electric and hybrid powertrains in Europe. The Tczew facility complements Eaton’s North American testing centre located in Mashall, Michigan.

While the SuperTruck I and II projects have been focused on developing more efficient diesel engines since 2011, the third project aims to develop an efficient HFC demonstrator truck.

The vehicle in question – a battery electric ‘Enviro100’ which has been retrofitted with Fusion’s ‘CAVstar’ automated driving system – is now being tested in order to calibrate and fine tune the self-driving system before it is put into service.

DAF Trucks UK has been the market leader in the UK truck (trucks >6t) market for 30 years. T&BB analyses the reasons behind this continued success and poses the question, will DAF UK remain the market leader for the next 30 years as the industry transitions to zero emissions?

This vehicle is being utilised for regional distribution and long-haul deliveries as part of a UK-funded government project to demonstrate how battery-electric heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) can effectively replace conventional HGVs at scale on the UK road network.

We know that new electric HGVs carry a significant upfront cost compared to that of their diesel ICE equivalents. DAF is aiming to leverage big data and AI to drive efficiency gains for operators, ameliorating that initial cost.

Company already operates autonomous trucks on public highways

When it opens, the hub will host pilot testing with customers, leading onto full commercialisation in 2027.

The near-series production prototype was presented at eMobility Days in Berlin earlier this month. The orderbook is now open with series production set for 2026.

According to its trials so far, the hybrid system helps extend the range of the Hiace by 20%, increasing it to 250 km compared with models powered solely by a hydrogen engine.