Last year, Britain was the largest market for electric buses in Europe, a position that it owes in large part to a small company in the Yorkshire town of Castleford. In 2013, Pelican was appointed as the official UK and Ireland importer for Chinese manufacturer Yutong and began selling its buses and coaches; in 2020, the first battery electric Yutong vehicles were deployed in Britain. In the last decade, 2,000 Yutong vehicles were sold through Pelican, of which over 800 are fully electric. For those familiar with Pelican solely as an importer of buses and coaches, the company’s announcement that it would introduce a medium-duty truck may have come as a surprise. In fact, as I learned on a recent trip to the company’s premises in the north of England, the decision to enter the electric truck market represents a return to Pelican’s roots as the oldest family-owned truck dealership still in operation in Britain.

Unconfirmed reports suggest a separate distribution partnership could be established.

By the end of the year, the company expects to have some 500 units in operation on the Brazilian market.

The 270 ‘Urbino 18 electric’ artics were ordered by Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe, the state-owned company which manages public transportation in the German capital.

Mercedes will deliver nearly 5,000 panel vans for parcel delivery over the coming months, of which roughly three-quarters will be large-size ‘eSprinter’ models.

This strategic move to assemble locally marks Karsan’s planned further expansion into the markets of North America

The manufacturer has signed a contract with South Australia’s Department for Infrastructure and Transport, which will put them to use in the city of Adelaide.

According to Daimler, “among the announced additions are semitrailer tractors and platform‑chassis models featuring extended wheelbase configurations, alternative long‑cab designs with different roof profiles, and options with just two battery packs instead of the standard three.”

Speaking with T&BB at the UITP event, Karsan CEO Okan Baş said that the decision to launch the e‑ATA LE reflects a strategic move to expand the company’s e-mobility offering and respond to public transport authorities' growing focus on fleet electrification, energy efficiency, and service flexibility.

In the meantime, prototype development and pilot manufacturing continue as the first pilot fleets are scheduled for deployment in Hamburg in August 2025 in partnership with the German transport operator, Hamburger Hochbahn.

At the summit, Iveco announced a strategic partnership with ABB focused on high-power charging infrastructure for bus depots and opportunity charging hubs, aimed at delivering turnkey charging solutions for operators. This agreement complements the roll-out of their E‑Way fleet.

The company also announced that its European operations are now headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, overseen by Daniel Fräde, Director of Sales, Marketing & After Sales Europe.