The Indonesian market for commercial vehicles over 2 tons gvw continued to weaken in the second quarter of 2024, by 13% to 31,745 units from strong year-earlier sales of 36,474 units.

In July, American powertrain manufacturer, Cummins Inc, opened a new test facility at its engine plant in Darlington in the northeast of England, with the attendance of T&BB and other members of the trade press. The company has carried out engine testing at Darlington for many years, but the new facility represents a definitive change in approach to product development and evaluation. While the older test cells are solely designed to assess engines, the new facility can accommodate an entire truck or bus for whole vehicle testing. Moreover, the building which houses the new facility is specifically made to safely test gas and hydrogen combustion vehicles.

ZF confirmed that under the new agreement it would further develop the latest version of the hybrid automated manual transmission system, TraXon 2 Hybrid, for heavy-duty trucks in China.

All product brands, including Vitesco, which are currently marketed alongside the Schaeffler brand will “gradually be transferred to the corporate brand”.

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 company introduced its F-Line E, an all-electric heavy-duty truck using a ZF electric drive system. Set to go into series production in 2025 at its Eskişehir Plant in Northeastern Turkey, the F-LINE series integrates several high-end safety technologies.

Vietnam’s market for commercial vehicles over 2 tons gvw began to recover in the second quarter of 2024 after almost two years of sharp decline.

The plant is managed by the company’s local subsidiary, Yuchai Power System (Thailand) Company Ltd, based in Samut Prakan just outside Bangkok.

The company said the Thai plant would be used to supply markets across South-east Asia, Middle East as well as Latin America, replacing the existing C&E Series models.

The Turkish manufacturer, which is a subsidiary of the Koç industrial conglomerate, held a special ceremony at its plant in Sakarya to commemorate the milestones.

The agreement is designed to support Farizon Auto’s expansion in the methanol-hydrogen and electric-powered commercial vehicle segment.

The new building provides eight vehicle bays, accommodating sixteen workspaces and an authorised testing facility lane for Ministry of Transport (MOT) vehicle tests.