The Allison T 280 fully automatic transmission from Allison Transmissions Inc has been selected as standard equipment for all new medium-sized city buses manufactured by J-Bus Ltd.

Solaris Bus & Coach SA says it is set to treble delivery of electric buses in Poland over the coming months.

Mid-August saw the SMMT (The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders) post figures for the first half of 2020: New bus and coach registrations fell by more than a third (-34.6%) to 1,731 units from 2,645.

Bus and coach (above 3.5t gvw) registrations fell by 41.5% in the EU, from 4,134 to 2,420 units, which was a slight improvement compared with May’s decline (‐56.5%), according to statistics collated by ACEA.

In June 2020, demand for new trucks (>3.5t gvw) across the European Union declined for the twelfth consecutive month, according to statistics collated by ACEA in Brussels.

In June 2020, EU registrations in the heavy truck (16t and over) segment were severely hit (‐55.6%), falling to 16,042 units from 36,093 units in June last year with Estonia and Latvia recording percentage losses of more than 80%, according to statistics collated by ACEA of Brussels.

The electric hybrid propulsion system supplied by BAE Systems which bridges the gap between conventional drives and full electric or fuel cell systems, remains a viable option for reducing emissions and saving fuel in areas where charging infrastructure is unavailable, maintains BAE Systems.

In June, EV Consulting, part of FEV Group, published a study for the VDMA – a European network association in the mechanical and plant engineering sector – that predicts by 2040 the fuel cell components market for passenger cars in Europe would be worth EUR11bn annually, whereas globally this figure would be EUR75bn.

Germany’s Federal Council (Bundesrat) on World Environment Day last month extended the motorway toll exemption for compressed and liquefied natural gas (CNG and LNG) heavy-duty trucks over 7.5 tons until December 31st, 2023.

Andreas Moser (56, appointed head of ZF Commercial Vehicle Technology Division, ZF Friedrichshafen AG, on January I, 2020) last month at the parent company’s headquarters in Friedrichshafen, to a closed group of journalists laid out details of organisational changes within the CV division to address the post-Covid markets and to meet key technology trends taking place in the sector.

The Philippine market for medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicles over 5 tons gvw is estimated to have declined by over 26% to 2,889 units in the first quarter of 2020 from already weak year-earlier sales of 3,930 units. Sales in March plunged as exports, investment and domestic business activity dropped sharply due to the COVID19 coronavirus pandemic.

The Russian market for trucks with gross vehicle weights of over 5 tons (>5t gvw) has contracted by 2.8% in the first quarter of 2020 (Q1/20) compared with the same period last year, according to statistics kept by LLC Avtostat Info.