Production at the new 90,000 sq ft manufacturing facility is set to begin in the second half of 2022.

The system, developed jointly by Lion Electric and Geotab, collects data which can be used to optimise all aspects of electric fleet operations.

The Ebusco 3.0, which is approximately 33% lighter than the previous Ebusco model, enters production and will be delivered from April 2022.

The North American school bus operator has ordered 260 LionC buses which are set to be delivered through to the first half of 2023.

Volvo do Brasil Veículos Ltda of São José dos Pinhais has launched its new range of heavy trucks in Brazil, just over a year after their launch on European market.

According to data from the National Automotive Association of Chile (ANAC) in Santiago, the Chilean truck market grew in the first half of 2021 to 7,389 units, an increase of 69.3% compared with 4,364 units in the same period in 2020. The sector, ANAC says, maintained its pace of recovery for the tenth month in a row.

Truck sales in Colombia rebounded strongly during the first half of 2021. According to data from the National Association for Sustainable Mobility (ANDEMOS) in Bogotá, the market registered 14,258 trucks for January to June 2021, an increase of 115.2% on the 6,626 units registered in the same period of 2020.

According to the Automotive Association of Peru (AAP), based in Lima, during the first six months of 2021, a total of 8,426 commercial vehicles were sold in Peru, some 138.6% higher than the same period in 2020 (3,532 units).

According to data from Anfavea, sales of both truck and bus+coach chassis in the Brazilian market grew in the first half of this year. The truck segment increased by 54.4% to 55,865 units, against 36,153 units in the same period last year. The bus+coach chassis segment registered an increase of 31.9%, with 7,538 units, against 5,716 units in 2020.

According to statistics collated by the National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea) based in Sao Paulo, production of bus and coach chassis in the first half of 2021, increased by 15% to 10,324 units compared with 8,974 units in the same period last year.

Just over a year after the resumption of production and sales of trucks in the main countries of South America, the markets are showing signs of strong and sustained growth. Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Colombia in the first half of this year grew by more than 50% compared with the same period last year and, most importantly, the performance was also better than the previous semester in 2019.

According to Luiz Carlos Moraes, the president of the National Association of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers (ANFAVEA) of Sao Paulo, is expecting the Brazilian truck sector to continue to be positive and to perform better than any other vehicle categories in Brazil, even despite the pandemic and the economic crisis.