Volvo will supply 28 ‘B8RLE’ low-entry buses and 4 ‘B13R’ buses for urban and regional transportation in the county of Vestland.

The new chassis is designed to maximise vehicle loading within Europe’s 4-metre height restriction while maintaining full driver comfort and safety.

The point of the programme is to reduce CO₂ emissions from public transport, lower operator costs in the long term, and stimulate the domestic and European market for zero-emission commercial vehicles.

Taking the ‘Voith Electrical Drive System’ (rated at 410 kW peak) and a 420-kWh battery system, the partners electrified a diesel coach which has been dubbed “TZ-S eCoach”.

The British bus and coach market grew for a ninth consecutive quarter in Q2 2025, growing by 62.5% to 2,968 registrations, according to statistics published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

In Truck & Bus Builder’s “Global Truck Report 2007”, published just before the financial crisis and “great recession” of 2008, we claimed that “across the developed markets, the demand for trucks can often be seen as a leading indicator to inflexions in the overall economic cycle.” Whether or not the truck industry can really be taken as a bellwether of the global economy, the truck wheel, a commodity that exhibits inelastic demand – no commercial vehicle can run without wheels – is undoubtedly a reliable indicator of market trends within the industry. “Usually, when we see shifts – positive or negative – on the truck side, they serve as an early indicator of what’s to come in the market,” said Giorgio Mariani, chief commercial officer at Maxion Wheels and vice president of global purchasing at parent company Iochpe-Maxion. “A good example is when, immediately post-COVID, it was the truck segment which began the industry recovery.”

This is in line with a state mandate: “all new school bus purchases must be zero-emission by 2027, and by 2035, every bus on the road must be electric”.

The market for heavy goods vehicles in Britain continued its decline in the second quarter of 2025, with registrations falling by 11.2% compared with the same period of the year before, according to statistics published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

NEVs to account for 50% of total sales by 2030.

Reynolds is reportedly splitting his time between the main facility in Northern Ireland and the new retrofit location in Bicester.

Nova Bus will deliver 120 12-metre ‘LFSe+’ buses to Calgary Transit, the public transit agency owned and operated by the city.

The new production line, expected to become operational by the fourth quarter of this year, is being built mainly in response to the recent hikes in US import tariffs.