Now, in an attempt to plug the hole in the budget sheet by producing more buses and therefore fulfilling orders, the company is re-introducing the use of contract manufacturing through assembly partners in China to aid the main factory in Deurne.

The consortium claims that the lithium-ion battery enhanced with Niobium, is an unprecedented innovation in the global automotive industry, offering ultra-fast charging capabilities to achieving full charge in just 10 minutes.

The company has now built a pavilion named the “Actros 600 Experience World” in Wörth, where customers, clients and the general public can learn about the vehicle as well as the company’s history. Daimler is attempting to educate the public on the need for electrification as it rolls out its zero-emission product range.

The e-SMaRT AU56 City product is now in series production. The first tyres to roll off the production line will be 275/70 R22.5 tyres, designed for the urban electric bus market.

This debut marks the first product from Maxion Structural Components' global partnership with French battery supplier, Forsee Power, announced in April last year.

The company added Canadian bus manufacturer Letenda to its client list. Forsee announced that its Zen Plus battery systems will be integrated into Letenda’s 9-metre Electrip zero-emission buses in Q4 2024. According to Forsee, use of NMC lithium-ion cells allows the battery pack to offer up to 5,000 charging cycles, increasing its TCO.

According to Shawn Furman, Sales Manager for Optimal EV’s transit business, who spoke to T&BB at the latest ACT Expo, the company has preferred to keep a low profile over the last couple of years, especially given the bad press which EVs are receiving. While competitors such as Lightning eMotors have gone under, Optimal EV has been quietly working away on its main offerings, an electric chassis-cab and a battery electric low floor shuttle bus.

Having purchased the full “e-package solution,” Daimler installed 41 charging stations (output of 360 kW) with a total number of 122 charging points at the depot. The result, up to four buses per charging station can be charged overnight at 90 kW. The supply agreement also includes maintenance and charging management software.

As part of the agreement signed between the two companies, Atlantic Autocars will take an initial order of five ‘Quantron Qargo BEV’ light-duty trucks.

Several of the vehicles were shown in order to promote the work that Poindexter’s brands have done to design bodies which are better suited to the characteristics and demands of the electric driveline: one of these was ‘Project Blackjack’, a proof-of-concept vehicle with a lightweight and aerodynamic Morgan truck body.

Paccar Connect provides operators with valuable fleet data relating to vehicle performance, fuel consumption, driver behaviour and GPS/logistical data helping operators run fleets more efficiently.

This validation operation is to start in the city of Curitiba, the city of Volvo’s Latin America headquarters and where the chassis is being manufactured.