The Swedish manufacturer is adding two new active safety options – one for side collision avoidance and the other for emergency braking – to its heavy-duty truck ranges across all markets.

The company plans to capitalise on its reputation as a premium vehicle safety systems developer as it moves into the Japanese market.

Brigade voluntarily submitted their key products, including Sidescan Predict and Radar Predict, to independent testing at Loughborough University, where they passed the new Progressive Safe System (PSS) requirements for both Blind Spot Information Systems (BSIS) and Moving Off Information Systems (MOIS).

Thanks to tweaks made to the engine, gearbox, and axles, as well as fitting class A+ tyres as standard, these trucks boast reduced fuel consumption of up to 3%.

The new R&D facility is located in Pune, Maharashtra, near a major production site where SAF-Holland manufactures trailer axles and suspensions under the ‘York’ brand.

The new lab verifies and validates software feature functionality for trucks and buses that not only meet current safety standards, but also helps Daimler Truck products manufactured products meeting future global safety regulations.

Seeing Machines’ technology, which tracks the driver’s face and behaviour to identify and react to distraction or drowsiness, was tested and certified successfully for use in buses produced by Wrightbus.

Both the diesel and battery electric variants of the MD series will now come with a new cab, which is four inches longer than in the previous model.

‘PlusVision’ – vehicle perception software which Plus launched earlier this year – can now be procured on an Ambarella ‘CV3-AD655’ system-on-chip which, according to Plus, offers “industry-leading AI performance per watt”.

The O 500 RSD 6x2 coach chassis is available in two versions, model 2445 featuring a 450hp Mercedes-Benz OM 460 LA engine and the model 2438 with a 380hp engine option.

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.

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.