MAN opened its first battery repair centre in 2020, located between Hanover and Laatzen in the German state of Lower Saxony.

In the heavy vehicle segment, the company sold 145,506 battery units in 2023 compared with 87,844 the previous year, a change of +65.6%. Conversely, in the light vehicle segment, 2023 sales rose to 25,831, a +11.5% increase from 2022 figures (23,175). Analysing total sales, 2023 saw a 54.3% growth, to 171,338, from 2022 sales figures of 111,019.

The company is set to supply BAE Systems with its Forsee Zen Plus battery system to equip BAE’s Gen3 powertrain on a class 7 demonstration truck. The batteries will be produced at Forsee’s new manufacturing facility in Columbus, Ohio, beginning in Q1 2024.

Isuzu to source batteries for its electric trucks from LGES.

The company says it will focus on commercialising its ‘Solar Bus Kit’, which (despite the name) is intended for trucks and trailers as well as buses.

Both subsystems are intended for easy integration into prototype and development vehicles, providing some of the necessary electronic components between the fuel cell stack/auxiliary battery and the traction motor.

The importance of fire suppression systems in vehicles can be seen first-hand in January this year, with an electric double-decker bus catching fire in Wimbledon, UK.

The money will serve two purposes: it will expand the production of cathode materials and battery cells in the gigafactory, and it will expand the capabilities of the adjacent recycling plant.

No financial details have been announced, but in the agreement, BASF will be responsible for the collection, packaging, transportation and entire recycling operation, mechanically processing the batteries into black mass** from which lithium, cobalt and nickel will be extracted and then reused in the manufacturing of new batteries.

Isuzu has announced plans to build an electric vehicle development and testing facility within its Fujisawa plant, to help it achieve its target of having a full range of carbon-neutral vehicles by 2030.

Founder Mujeeb Ijaz steps down from his role as CEO to serve instead as Vice-Chairman of the board and Chief Technology Officer.

The battery cells are to be sourced from LG Energy Solution to make battery modules and packs for TDCV starting in the first half of 2025.