At the first UITP summit in four years, we report on developments related to two topics: electric vehicles and artificial intelligence.

Okan Baş, CEO of Karsan at UITP in Barcelona, Spain, announced the company had sold its 700th electric vehicle very recently and that now, with a presence in 20 countries, its goal in 2023 is to double its e-bus sales of 330 units in 2022.

The ‘Thermo HV’, which is designed specifically for electric vehicles, accommodates an input voltage between 600 and 875 volts and delivers a variable heat output of up to 12 kW.

The company had 4 vehicles on display including two electric buses,the 12m Citivolt and the NovoCiti Volt, Citiport CNG and the Big e prototype.

The 'RE2' electric ramp and the '028d' sliding door were presented by the Irizar subsidiary at the show in Barcelona earlier in June.

T&BB spoke to Lind, who is Senior Vice President and Head of Bus and Coach at Scania, at the UITP Global Public Transport Summit in Barcelona, Spain earlier this month.

The T&BB team attended UITP in Barcelona to bring you the latest news which included the debut of the first electric version of the 13m suburban Crossway intercity bus (Crossway Le Elec), and which was accompanied by a 9.5m electric urban midibus from the E-Way range. 

At ACT Expo in May, T&BB spoke to Dr Selda Gunsel – President of Shell Global Solutions and VP Fuels and Lubricants and Technology – who likened the 'Starship 3.0' to "a scientific paper on wheels", bringing together the best fuel-saving technologies available today.

The bus has a flat floor throughout and a standard-fit wheelchair-friendly passenger lift at the rear double doors.

Westport executives David M Johnson, Scott Baker, and Charlie Ker spoke to T&BB about the 'H2-HPDI', which enables a diesel combustion engine to run effectively on hydrogen fuel - reducing emissions by up to 98%.

The eCitaro fuel cell utilises a battery-electric drive system with high-performance NMC3 batteries while the fuel cell acts as a hydrogen generator to extend the range. With a range of 350km on a single charge, the articulated version offers space for 128 passengers.

The Truck & Bus Builder team will be in attendance to bring you coverage of the launch as Mercedes began taking orders in October 2022, the company has finally moved into series production.