‘Renault Trucks UK Training Academy’, located in the village of Whetstone, near Leicester, will provide accredited and manufacturer-specific technical training to technicians and apprentices, combining practical and classroom-based learning.

The new site is situated on the Redbridge causeway at the end of the M271 motorway in Southampton, less than a mile away from the company’s former head office and truck workshop.

Certification requires the necessary aftermarket services including maintenance and repairs, expert consulting services and replacement parts distribution. Furthermore, the centres require charging infrastructure with dedicated BEV serving bays as well as staff upskilling to meet the requirements of BEV fleet maintenance. This enhances DTNA’s aftermarket services across North America. 

MAN opened its first battery repair centre in 2020, located between Hanover and Laatzen in the German state of Lower Saxony.

The purpose of the BharatBenz Regional Training Centres is to upskill and reskill the capability and competence of more than 3,500 drivers and, sales and service personnel across the BharatBenz network, annually.

The company reported that sales of Maxus vans grew by 46% in 2023, while its battery electric vans took fourth place in the UK LCV-EV market, and it forecasts growth of 50% across all brands this year. 

The new training centre, representing an investment of more than GBP300,000 from Volvo UK, houses three fully-equipped training bays, each large enough to accommodate two trucks, alongside a classroom.

The five locations which were recently added were Vanguard Truck Centers dealerships in Phoenix, Arizona; Atlanta, Georgia; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Austin and Houston, Texas.

It is a 26,000-square-metre facility capable of producing up to 16,000 units per year; following a planned expansion to 40,000 square metres, it will be capable of producing 50,000 units.

The educational tour will stop off at all 34 DAF Trucks’ truck sales and aftermarket services centres in the UK and Ireland, to deliver in-person, hands-on training for all staff.

The aim is to increase road safety and to improve job satisfaction to increase driver retention throughout the country.

BharatBenz is a brand name of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, which is fully supported by Daimler Truck AG