New energy commercial vehicles (NECVs), comprising mainly hydrogen, electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, increased by 32% to 447,000 units.

Delegates of Hydrogen UK’s annual conference, held at the National Conference Centre in Birmingham on 12 March, left the event with no doubts about the future of the burgeoning hydrogen economy. Opening the conference, Clare Jackson, CEO of Hydrogen UK, declared that “net zero is not possible without hydrogen”. The burning question is, will the UK have any significant part in its development?

According to Motiv, the electric shuttle bus received an overall score of 89.1 out of 100, which it claims is the highest score ever achieved for a medium-duty electric bus tested in a 7 year / 200,000 miles or higher service-life category.

The new model is a battery electric version of the longstanding ‘8900’ range, designed for extended city, intercity, and commuter operations.

The UK bus and coach market in 2023 grew by 44.6% to register 4,932 units, a promising level of growth which still remains below the pre-pandemic figure of 5,874 units (2019), according to statistics published by the SMMT.

The ULE bus offers a gross vehicle weight (GVW) rating of 16t and is powered by Ashok Leyland’s H-series 6-cylinder 4-valve 184 kW (246 hp) rear engine matched with an automatic (Allison) transmission.

Daimler Truck opened a new 22,000 sqm truck and bus all-purpose driveline agnostic servicing and sales centre in Stuttgart (“Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle Center”) for Mercedes-Benz and Fuso trucks as well as Setra and Mercedes-Benz buses. This is its fifth such facility in the past 12 months, and it plans to add three more in Europe in 2025.

The company claims that it has delivered some 1,500 electric buses to date.

With two of an order for five Switch EiV 22 buses for Gujarat delivered, these are the first e-double deck buses to be delivered to Gujarat; others are already in service in Mumbai and Hyderabad.

The app has multiple new functions, including the addition of the van and camper-van tyre segments. Commercial Vehicle (CV) tyre regulations from over 39 countries have been included, provided in 20 languages.

The company is set to supply 140 electric charging stations to Nobina, Scandinavia’s largest public transport operator, for use at four electric bus depots across Stockholm, Sweden. The chargers are to be installed by the end of 2024 and in operation by Q1 2025. This signifies Ekoenergetyka’s continued growth in the Nordic markets.

Iveco announced a positive set of financial results for the 2023 year, including EUR 16 billion in consolidated revenues (up 13% from 2022), an adjusted EBITA of EUR 940 million (up EUR 413 million compared to 2022) and an adjusted net income of EUR 352 million (up EUR 127 million from 2022 figures).