BYD says it plough USD 580 million into a new factory on the premises of an old Ford facility in Camaçari, Bahia, Brazil which closed in January 2021. The factory will consist of three separate facilities, one will focus on chassis production for the electric bus and truck market, the second will build electric passenger vehicles and the third, components for both commercial and passenger vehicles.

Between 7-12 October, bus and coach manufacturers and their component suppliers descended on Brussels for the first exhibition held by Busworld since the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was Busworld’s second to take place in the imposing Art Deco halls of the Brussels Expo, which hosted over 500 exhibitors and more than 40,000 visitors from around the world.

“HÜBNER is more than just a supplier of articulated bus systems,” announces Uwe Bittroff, Managing Director of the HÜBNER Group of Kassel at Busworld Europe last month. “As a global supplier, we offer our customers integrated, customized solutions."

The first construction phase of 'Northvolt Six' will begin at the end of this year, with a target of a 30-GWh annual capacity when completed in 2026.

Akia is developing a 36-metre-long high-capacity battery-powered electric vehicle, called ‘TransEra’, which can operate on normal roads without the need for special lanes, tracks or guidance systems.

This mid-sized low-floor urban city electric bus has been developed for the European bus market. The bus ranges from 8.7 to 9 metres and builds on the 12-metre Higer Azure series imported by the Harris Group in Ireland.

160 ‘Xcelsior’ 40-foot buses will replace end-of-life vehicles in METRO’s fleet, to be jointed later by an additional 50 options.

“We’ve made huge progress in electric drivetrain technology since the last Busworld event in 2019. We’re particularly excited about our new HES580 3-level inverter, which increased the motor efficiency and will be the motor-friendliest inverter on the market for bus powertrains," said David Segbers at Busworld 2023.

The Euro VI engine's maximum torque has been increased by 50 (to 150 Nm) and offers lower fuel consumption and longer time between service intervals than previous generations due to high torque and low revs. The new powertrains are able to run on HVO biodiesel.

73.5% of all new city buses (excludes intercity buses, coaches and trolleybuses) registered in Europe in the first half of 2023 had an alternative driveline, states CME Solutions.

Roland Ramirez, Director Program Management Global BusLink at JOST said that the launch date of BusLink in Europe with an unnamed large European OEM was set for 2025.

All three segments, city bus, intercity and coach showed registration volume rises.