Volvo states that this offering is tailored specifically for the Brazilian market and aligns it with its commitment to reducing carbon emissions in the transportation sector.

There are some ideas that seem so obvious upon their introduction that one wonders why somebody did not think of it earlier. A hands-free charger that automatically plugs into an electric vehicle and unplugs from it when finished surely qualifies as a not-so-obvious obvious idea. It makes perfect sense – given the potential dangers of handling high-voltage equipment, and also given the prospect of driverless vehicles – to develop chargers that do not require a human to operate them. After speaking to Erin Galiger – who is director of the North American market for Dutch tech firm Rocsys – at the latest ACT Expo, I learned that hands-free chargers have several more applications than I had initially expected.

The company has now built a pavilion named the “Actros 600 Experience World” in Wörth, where customers, clients and the general public can learn about the vehicle as well as the company’s history. Daimler is attempting to educate the public on the need for electrification as it rolls out its zero-emission product range.

Valeo says it will also be partnering with Seeing Machines to offer a “best-in-class” full system for interior sensing, available to the passenger car and commercial vehicle segments.

The e-SMaRT AU56 City product is now in series production. The first tyres to roll off the production line will be 275/70 R22.5 tyres, designed for the urban electric bus market.

The latest update to the TracKing platform is the result of a collaboration with ZF Group which was first announced last year.

At this year’s ‘Global Technology Day’ – held at its test track on 27 June in Jeversen, to the north of Hanover – ZF Group’s CEO, Dr Holger Klein, observed that, while sales of fully electric cars are slowing down, hybrids are seeing “a renaissance”. Fittingly, ZF used the event to promote one of its latest innovations, a new hybrid drive system. During the rest of the day, however, we were taken onto the track to see how its advanced safety technologies from the passenger car segment are now being transferred to trucks.

The new facility, which is already in use, incorporates a test chamber and engine dynamometers with nominal capacities of 900 kilowatts and 4,000 Nm.

This debut marks the first product from Maxion Structural Components' global partnership with French battery supplier, Forsee Power, announced in April last year.

The company added Canadian bus manufacturer Letenda to its client list. Forsee announced that its Zen Plus battery systems will be integrated into Letenda’s 9-metre Electrip zero-emission buses in Q4 2024. According to Forsee, use of NMC lithium-ion cells allows the battery pack to offer up to 5,000 charging cycles, increasing its TCO.

According to Shawn Furman, Sales Manager for Optimal EV’s transit business, who spoke to T&BB at the latest ACT Expo, the company has preferred to keep a low profile over the last couple of years, especially given the bad press which EVs are receiving. While competitors such as Lightning eMotors have gone under, Optimal EV has been quietly working away on its main offerings, an electric chassis-cab and a battery electric low floor shuttle bus.

The deal is subject to approval: if permitted by the antitrust authorities, Krone will make use of Schwarzmüller’s sales and manufacturing footprint to extend its market presence in Europe and expand its distribution capacity.