In releasing product development news ahead of the IAA next month, Christian Brenneke, head of global R&D for the ZF Commercial Vehicle Solutions (CVS) division outlined the direction and strategy of CVS.

The proposed joint venture with the Taylor Group of Companies will build a manufacturing facility in Lowndes County, Mississippi and establish a distribution network for selling, leasing and servicing Terberg terminal tractors.

The ‘Zero Emission Mobility Innovation Fund’ is targeted at manufacturers who are based in or operating in Scotland and are conducting research and development into or trialling new zero-emission technologies.

CJPT in Japan, a technology development partnership company and JV involving Toyota Motor Corporation, Hino Motors Ltd (a Toyota subsidiary) and Isuzu Motors Ltd, has announced a programme to research a standard, commercial, swappable and rechargeable battery cartridge for use in electric vehicles.

The two companies believe that inductive charging – a type of power transfer which uses electromagnetic induction – has multiple advantages over conventional plug-in chargers; for instance, allowing a driverless vehicle to recharge itself without any human input. 

The manufacturer of electric terminal tractors has raised a total of USD35m in investments to support the company’s growth, following an institutional funding round led by venture capital firm S2G Ventures and private investment firm Henry Crown and Company.

The three Japanese firms will develop hydrogen fuel cell-powered light trucks for the mass market through their research joint venture Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies, established last year to “help address various challenges facing the transportation industry as well as contribute to the achievement of a carbon-neutral society.”

The electrification specialist retrofitted an Isuzu FRR - complete with a truck-mounted attenuator - with an electric powertrain for Dempsey Wood, making it New Zealand's first fully-electric traffic safety vehicle.

The manufacturer of exhaust and thermal management products released sales figures and recapped divisional changes and product presentations from the past twelve months.

Iveco Bus president lays out key bus market trends and how the company plans to expand into new markets of Central Asia.

Iveco Bus is already far ahead towards production of zero emission vehicles with its Rorthais plant in France fully dedicated to electrication of city buses.

The two companies - who have already produced school buses on the Ford Class 4 chassis platform - will now start working with the GM 4500 as well; a cutaway van chassis best known as the basis for the ‘Silverado’ pickup truck range by Chevrolet.