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.

In Q1/20, the Russian bus market (GVW>5t) registered 3,448 new buses, which was 29.9% more than 2,655 vehicles in the same period of 2019, according to LLC Avtostat Info.

In the first quarter of 2020, Russia registered 22,342 new light commercial vehicles, which was fractionally up (+0.6%) on the same period last year, according to LLC Avtostat Info.

Despite March figures, which recorded a fall in the sales of new trailers and semi-trailers of 9.6%, the market for the first quarter this year recorded an overall gain of 8.4%, according to Russian Automotive Market Research.

Sales of medium- and heavy-duty rigid trucks in India witnessed a vast contraction of 61.5% in the fourth quarter of FY2019-20 to register just 30,973 units, down from 80,355 units during the same quarter of the previous year (2018-19).

At ABA Marketplace and Busworld North America conference held in Omaha, Nebraska, USA in January 2020, Jan Deman, President Busworld Academy, said:  “As Busworld, we stand at a crossroads, where bus manufacturers, operators, authorities and knowledge institutions meet, and from this point we notice that never before in our industry so many initiatives have been taken to exchange ideas and insights as today.