Last year, Britain was the largest market for electric buses in Europe, a position that it owes in large part to a small company in the Yorkshire town of Castleford. In 2013, Pelican was appointed as the official UK and Ireland importer for Chinese manufacturer Yutong and began selling its buses and coaches; in 2020, the first battery electric Yutong vehicles were deployed in Britain. In the last decade, 2,000 Yutong vehicles were sold through Pelican, of which over 800 are fully electric. For those familiar with Pelican solely as an importer of buses and coaches, the company’s announcement that it would introduce a medium-duty truck may have come as a surprise. In fact, as I learned on a recent trip to the company’s premises in the north of England, the decision to enter the electric truck market represents a return to Pelican’s roots as the oldest family-owned truck dealership still in operation in Britain.

This strategic move to assemble locally marks Karsan’s planned further expansion into the markets of North America

On display at UITP last month were two eAxles, a central drive unit for the midibus segment and a low floor eAxle with independent suspension for heavy-duty transit bus transport segments.

Plan approved to establish eight new overseas subsidiaries

The restructuring reflects broader trends in the German automotive sector, where legacy OEMs face rising competition, high wage costs, higher energy prices and a growing urgency to adapt to the post-ICE era.

Nearly two years ago, we spoke with the chief executive officer of Imagry, Eran Ofir, about the Israeli company’s “mapless” self-driving technology and its planned on-road tests with Otokar. At the UITP global summit, held in the German city of Hamburg between 15-18 June, Truck & Bus Builder spoke with Suhail Habib, an engineer at the company, to get an update on the company’s activities.

“Iveco has doubled its market share in the UK over the last five years,” Cutts opens. “Last year, we finished just shy of 5%. That was a tactical decision to grow our vehicle park and volume, re-establishing ourselves as a serious player.”

At last year’s ACT Expo in Las Vegas, Truck & Bus Builder met for the first time with Range Energy to learn more about its “electric trailer platform”. This year’s show provided the opportunity for a business update after two major announcements: the appointment of a new chief executive officer, Jon Foster, and a supply agreement with ZF Group for its ‘AxTrax 2’ e-axles. I spoke with founder Ali Javidan – now chief technology officer – and Foster about what the company hopes to achieve in the next five years.

The investment is scheduled for the fourth quarter of FY2025-26 and is aimed at supporting the ongoing capital expenditure and growth plans of Switch Mobility.

With existing offices in Sweden, Norway, the UK, the Netherlands, France, and other European markets, the Düsseldorf expansion positions Kempower to meet surging demand for EV infrastructure in Germany.

The new owner of Magirus, Mutares SE & Co KGaA, has ambitious plans for the company: by 2030, it aims to double Magirus revenues to over EUR750m per year while also reducing emissions from production to net zero.

The company says this move to unlock value from non-core assets is consistent with Rane Holding Ltd’s strategic objective of streamlining operations and strengthening financial performance.