Stagecoach told Truck & Bus Builder that the 715 buses come from a range of different suppliers, including: Alexander Dennis; Wrightbus; Pelican Yutong; and Volvo Buses.

While the spotlight was on its combustion technology at its stand at IAA Transportation 2024 – held between 17-22 September in Hanover, Germany – American powertrain manufacturer Cummins Inc also had a lot to say about its alternative offerings, now grouped under the name of ‘Accelera’. Informally, the Accelera brand covers all “the electric stuff”, while the legacy engine components, together with the non-electric axle, braking, and suspension products acquired from Meritor, retain the Cummins name. However, Cummins envisages that, eventually, the “electric stuff” will become the core of its business.

In July, American powertrain manufacturer, Cummins Inc, opened a new test facility at its engine plant in Darlington in the northeast of England, with the attendance of T&BB and other members of the trade press. The company has carried out engine testing at Darlington for many years, but the new facility represents a definitive change in approach to product development and evaluation. While the older test cells are solely designed to assess engines, the new facility can accommodate an entire truck or bus for whole vehicle testing. Moreover, the building which houses the new facility is specifically made to safely test gas and hydrogen combustion vehicles.

The state government of Western Australia, together with the federal government, is committing AUD125m towards the manufacture of buses on the BZL Electric chassis in Perth.

The funding will cover both the purchase of electric buses and the installation of necessary charging infrastructure. Each school bus can receive up to USD 470,000 in grants, which includes up to USD 95,000 for charging infrastructure.

The ’CoacH2’ project, worth GBP1.2m and including partners such as Translink and Queen’s University Belfast, aims to produce an electric vehicle which can meet the demands of coach operation, including heavy payloads and long-distance routes.

Grants totalling USD1.7bn will be made available to support as many as eleven closed or at-risk automotive manufacturing and assembly facilities in switching to the production of electric vehicles and components.

Seeing Machines’ technology, which tracks the driver’s face and behaviour to identify and react to distraction or drowsiness, was tested and certified successfully for use in buses produced by Wrightbus.

Eight operators will benefit from the success of a bid made by charging-as-a-service firm Zenobē, including major fleets such as Stagecoach and McGill’s Buses.

The orders came from Stagecoach Group and FirstGroup which has placed the largest single order (169 units) for Yutong electric buses in the UK to date.

ZF says its update management service will “fix bugs, patch security vulnerabilities as well as add new features while maintaining compliance” with the UN ECE R156 regulation.

Approximately 360,000 square feet of the existing plant, which measures 1.42m square feet, will be given over to the ‘Accelera’ zero emission brand.