Colombia is to be the first export country in South America to import the all-electric version of VW’s Delivery truck, the e-Delivery, according to VWCO, which has been working with the government to enter the Colombian marketplace with its electric truck range.

The Governor of the State of São Paulo, João Doria, presented at the end of March the Pró-Veículo Verde (Pro Green Vehicle) programme for the production of hybrid vehicles or vehicles powered by clean energy in the state, the objective of which is to attract up to BRA20bn (USD4bn) of investments in the next three years.

VWCO finished the year 2021 reporting growth of almost 80% in exports, compared with the previous year, up from 4,680 units in 2020 to around 8,400 vehicles.

Mercedez-Benz do Brasil celebrated the silver anniversary (25 years) of its Sprinter light-duty vehicle range in Brazil with the launch of the new Sprinter Street models, which are fitted with new PROCONVE L7-compliant engines.

DHL Logistics Brazil has installed super-thin (3mm) lightweight solar panels on 16 refrigerated trucks operated by its cold chain logistics partner, Polar, which specializes in the transport of medicines to the health industry.

MWM has announced the renewal of an agreement for the assembly of the MAN D08 and D26 engines that equip VW buses, medium-duty, semi-heavy and extra-heavy trucks at MWM’ s Santo Amaro plant.

FPT is the new engine supplier for the Delivery Express+: the new 3.0-litre F1C Euro VI engine, specially developed for the VW light truck, has an output of 156hp and a torque of 360Nm, and boasts a reduction of up to 5% in fuel consumption on previous engine versions.

Lightning eMotors Corp, based in Loveland, Colorado, has completed the expansion of its manufacturing facility to more than 226,000sq-ft, doubling its production capacity. The firm expects the investment of more than USD5 million to support an annual production capacity of up to 1,500 zero emission vehicles and powertrain systems by the end of 2022.

Hyvia, a joint venture between Renault Group and Plug Power based in Villiers-Saint-Frédéric, France, has inaugurated its plant at Renault Group’s manufacturing site in Flins, France. Hyvia states it is ready to begin assembly and testing of fuel cell modules based on Plug Power’s technology.

Austin, Texas-based truck retrofitter Hyliion Holdings Corp has recently received two orders for a total of 70 units of its Hypertruck ERX. 50 units have been purchased by GreenPath Logistics, with a further 20 units ordered by Mone Transport.

Nashville, Tennessee-based subsidiary of Japan’s Bridgestone Corporation, Bridgestone Americas Inc, has made a minority investment in May Mobility, an autonomous vehicle technology firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

This partnership has many advantages, significant investment in the UK, the enablement of a state-of-the-art test facility to maintain Ceres’ technology leadership and support for our rapidly growing global partner base. We look forward to establishing a long-term partnership with HORIBA MIRA.