Prawaas 4.0 is an event organized by the Bus and Car Operators Confederation of India (BOCI), held on August 29-31, 2024 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC). Below we report on the new vehicles launched at the show with a mix of drivelines including clean diesel, natural gas and battery electric.

The Slovak company unveiled the tractor unit at a press event – a Ford F-Max truck retrofitted with a range-extended electric powertrain and dubbed ‘M&I RH120R’.

The initiative is enabled by the “hydrogen in mobility” subsidy scheme (Subsidieregeling Waterstof in Mobiliteit, or “SWiM”), which is offering a total of EUR40m to applicants next year.

Deliveries are set to start in Q4 2025 with the trucks built in partnership with Iowa-based family-run refuse and recycling truck body manufacturer New Way Trucks.

In collaboration with Hyundai Motor Company, the company launched the E-WAY H2, a 12-metre hydrogen fuel cell electric city bus, which first debuted at Busworld Europe in 2023.

The Elec City is powered by a 180-kW fuel cell system, feeding off an 875-litre hydrogen tank to charge its 78.4 kWh high-capacity battery pack.

GLS has helped Hyundai roll out more of its HFC trucks in the marketplace. The Xcient has been deployed in 10 countries, including the U.S., Switzerland, Germany, France, Netherlands, New Zealand, Korea, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE.

New Flyer says it will repurpose existing space at its production facility in Winnipeg and lease another site for final vehicle commissioning.

Over a year ago, British startup Tevva Motors Ltd – which had already raised millions of dollars in funding on the strength of its 7.5 tonne prototype electric truck – announced plans to merge with an American company called ElectraMeccanica. It was an unlikely match: ElectraMeccanica had launched a single product, a battery-powered three-wheeler, which had to be recalled due to numerous technical faults. Following the merger, the new company, called ‘Tevva Inc’, would begin with a cash balance between USD70-80m, debts of USD26m, and two facilities on either side of the Atlantic. It was apparently a marriage of convenience: a means to recapitalise Tevva’s business and enter the American market; and when the deal collapsed, the declaration of bankruptcy, which came six months later, seemed as inevitable as the change of seasons.

New Flyer will supply 108 units of its ‘Xcelsior Charge FC’ range of hydrogen-powered electric buses, all measuring forty feet in length, to SamTrans.

GTS Group will sell Nikola’s battery electric and fuel cell electric trucks from its Californian dealership, providing services and supporting customers in applying for state and federal incentives.

Under the ‘Be a First Mover in Hydrogen’ theme, Hyundai showcased its hydrogen business and technologies covering the entire hydrogen value chain - developed mostly under its HTWO division.