February saw PepsiCo take delivery of its first electric heavy-duty truck in Brazil; a semi-heavy rigid (15t ≤ gvw up to 40 tons) P25 6x2 Scania truck, produced in Sweden, which is to be used for internal logistics goods distribution operations between PepsiCo’s four factories* in the state of São Paulo.

The acquisition is part of a EUR54m investment by the National Transport Authority which will fund the replacement of Limerick’s bus fleet with battery-powered vehicles.

Volvo NA has not divulged the location of the newly announced plant in Mexico, but it will reportedly cover 1.7m square feet when it is opened for production in two years’ time.

The truck is travelling over 10,000 kilometres between April and July, making 60 stops in 7 European countries.

Based on the heavy-duty ‘TGX’ range, the ‘hTGX’ will be aimed at customers looking to decarbonise their operations in demanding applications such as construction, logging, and tanker transport.

The startup manufacturer says that one of the key changes to the 2024 model ‘Xos SV’ is the addition of an anti-lock braking system with hill hold to improve its drivability.

The TX-12 PRO automated transmission is now available with the heavy-duty Peterbilt Model 567 and 579 and the Kenworth T680 and T880.

The eTrucks will be offered in 4x2 and 6x2 axle configurations and a myriad of options affecting the wheelbase, the cab, the number of batteries, the battery pack layout, the position of the charging port, suspension, and so on.

The new ‘Volvo FH Aero’, announced earlier this year, will launch in EMEA and Asia-Pacific markets over the next two years with Stoneridge’s mirror-camera system installed.

DFDS has already purchased 125 electric trucks from Volvo and is now running the largest fleet of heavy-duty electric trucks in Europe.

Multinational tech company Nvidia has announced it is supplying its next-generation automotive computer architecture – boasting a processing power of up to 2,000 teraflops – to multiple OEMs and developers of autonomous driving technologies, including Plus and Waabi.

The manufacturer has said that its Model 579, 567, and 520 truck ranges may now be specified with the new Cummins engine, with start of production scheduled for the third quarter of this year.