Rivian is investing nearly USD120m in the 1.2m square-foot “supplier park”, next to the site where it builds all its electric vehicles (including its ‘Electric Delivery Van’).

The hub will include 16 high-capacity charging bays with 12 ultra-fast chargers (supplied by Heliox), each delivering up to 360 kW, as well as four megawatt chargers funded through the eFREIGHT 2030 project aimed at decarbonising the heavy-duty transport sector in the UK.

Available as a 9-tonne, 11-tonne, or 15-tonne truck, the new Atlas range is fitted with driver and passenger airbags, which Otokar claims is a first for its segment in the Turkish market.

The prototype, dubbed ‘Alumotor’, is a synchronous reluctance motor which does not require rare earth metals or cobalt in order to work.

At the plant inauguration, MAN announced that it would invest a further EUR150m to kickstart production of battery modules, i.e., assembled battery cells which are installed in the packs.

Truck-maker highlights emissions and efficiency benefits.

According to SMMT’s own post-show review, “more than 400 senior representatives from industry, government, and the infrastructure, energy, fleets, insurance and logistics sectors” were in attendance to discuss “the transition to zero emission mobility”. Certainly, the conference drew a large and diverse crowd of people, but while the auditorium spilled over with attendees, the speeches and panel discussions were light on substance. Lilian Greenwood, Member of Parliament and undersecretary to the transport secretary, did not explain how the Starmer government would provide certainty to the industry in its transition to electric, other than a bland assertion that the 2030 and 2035 bans on combustion-engine cars and vans, which have already been moved twice, were “iron-clad” targets that the current government would stick to.

This month, our focus shifts to Europe, where the European Union (EU) has rolled back its CO₂ targets.

Comgás installing natural gas refuelling stations for three major operating companies Ypê, Nelcar and Grupo SADA in the state of São Paulo.

At the end of January, the European Commission kicked off a series of strategic dialogues with business leaders from the automotive industry to review regulations which set mandatory CO2 emission targets for newly-registered vehicles. In a press release, the ACEA alleged that car and van manufacturers could face fines of up to EUR16bn this year for failing to comply with the regulation. Cummins expects that a similar target for CVs – a 43% reduction starting in 2030 – will not be achieved without a drastic transformation of the market. Echoing the opinion of the ACEA, Lamb told Truck & Bus Builder that “the rollout of infrastructure for both electric and hydrogen vehicles is slower than will be needed to meet the 2030 target”.

The company said it obtained a letter of conformity to IATF 16949 on the design and manufacturing perimeters for its ‘SymphonHy’ site from testing and certification firm Bureau Veritas last December, exactly a year after the gigafactory’s inauguration.

In early 2023, a new name was introduced to the commercial vehicle industry: “Accelera by Cummins”. It was the result of eight separate acquisitions made by parent company Cummins Inc over a period of as many years, all of them connected, albeit in different ways, to zero-emission technology. Naturally, Cummins wished to differentiate its new purchases from its ongoing engine business, and it is not the only legacy manufacturer to attempt a rebrand for its electric vehicle products (a la General Motors’ “Brightdrop” and Shyft Group’s “Blue Arc”). But it also aims to weld its acquisitions together into a single, cohesive unit capable of delivering “end-to-end electric solutions”. Molly Hale – who is the marketing communications manager for Accelera – explained: “There was this belief that we needed to have an identity all our own, to go to the market and explain the depth of the commitment and the depth of the investments in these technologies.”