At IAA Transportation 2024 last month, I experienced firsthand the magnetic effect of the “Tesla phenomenon”. Towards the end of a series of keynote speeches delivered by some of the industry’s most important executives, Dan Priestley, who heads the development of Tesla’s heavy electric ‘Semi’ truck, took to the stage to provide an update on the company’s plans for the commercial vehicle segment. I had a place towards the front, having sat through the preceding talks that afternoon, which were reasonably well attended; however, looking behind just before Priestley’s entry to the stage, I saw a new crowd of attendees filling out the entire space.

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 proof-of-concept vehicle was assembled, deployed and tested at the MIRA Technology Park in Nuneaton, UK. The prototype is expected to be tested by operators and OEMs during the rest of 2024.

The projects cover five topic areas, including components for hydrogen fuelling of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, and standardised hydrogen refuelling stations.

Sourcewell is a U.S. government agency which handles procurement on behalf of more than 50,000 participating entities.

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.

The Ministry of Transport in Japan is considering introducing dedicated lanes for self-driving trucks on highways connecting major cities to help reduce congestion and address driver shortages.

At a Venture Logistics facility in the Midwest, the project partners will test a 500-kW charging system with two Class 8 battery electric trucks to see what benefits wireless charging could bring to goods transportation.

The VNR range and current VNL models with a power rating of 455 horsepower and 1,650-lb-ft of torque can now be ordered with an engine which complies with the latest NOx and particulate regulations set down by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

New European legislation mandating the use of tyre pressure monitoring systems (TPMS) for all new commercial vehicles, including trailers, came into effect on July 7. Any tyre pressure change that exceeds 20% must be displayed (in real-time) on the driver's dashboard, alerting them to the issue as a safety precaution.

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.