The STAR project – the word STAR is a reversed acronym for Rapid Autonomous Transport System, which is being led by Iveco Bus - is a French funded research programme launched in 2017 that aims to develop the first driverless, autonomous standard bus for Europe capable of operating under conditions similar to real operations, is on track to produce a first prototype in early 2021.

Scania’s new battery electric self-driving urban concept vehicle, revealed at the UITP Congress last month is designed with the flexibility to shift from ferrying commuters to and from work in mornings and evenings to delivering goods during the day and collecting refuse at night.

Trailer brake specialist, Haldex AB, has announced it was working in close cooperation with a leading truck manufacturer to evaluate brake solutions for connected, autonomous, electric vehicles.

Filtration specialist, Donaldson Company Inc, has started construction of a USD15m Material Research Centre at its corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Minnesota.

International Centre for Automotive Technology of India and Altair Engineering Inc, a multinational information technology company have signed a Minute of Understanding to create a simulation and testing facility for the emerging mobility market.

In February this year, a number of leading brands involved in the supply of hydrogen and in fuel cell electric vehicle manufacture - namely Air Liquide, Hyundai, NEL, Nikola Motor, Shell and Toyota - signed a Memorandum of Understanding for hydrogen fuelling components, for the purpose of testing state of the art heavy duty hydrogen fuelling hardware to assist in standardization and speed to market of fuel cell electric trucks.

Trevor Milton, Nikola CEO and founder of electric truck concern, Nikola Motor Company, at an event held at its WestWorld facility in Scottsdale, said the company was actively pursuing hydrogen as a ubiquitous fuel for its electric vehicles and that it had just committed to making an initial investment of USD16m to build Nikola's new fuel cell development laboratory and that staged investments in the new facility was expected to exceed several hundred million dollars.

The Automotive Research Association of India has announced it is to establish a fourth testing facility on the outskirts of Pune.

Automotive Research Association of India has designed a light weight bus body that is fully compliant with the body building code that ARAI claims delivers fuel savings of 8% compared with current commercial buses.

Electricity transmission system operator, TenneT BV and Daimler AG, through its Mercedes-Benz Energy GmbH subsidiary, via a joint development partnership have announced they have researched and tested the feasibility of using used electric vehicle batteries as ‘second life’ storage devices of electricity in the national grid.

Continental AG has officially inaugurated its materials research laboratory, called 'Taraxagum Lab Anklam'.