Two years delayed, due to Covid 19, Dutch bus and coach builder, VDL, is planning to resume its plans to build a dedicated plant for electric bus production in Roeselare, Belgium with construction due to begin in the autumn of 2021.

The European Council has adopted the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility 2.0 programme, worth EUR33.71bn, which is now administered by CINEA to fund the development of high-performing, sustainable infrastructure in transport, digital and energy.

Bridgestone Corporation of Tokyo, Japan has launched a new flagship tyre for the city bus segment, the U-AP 002.

Tyre manufacturer, Bridgestone Corporation of Tokyo, Japan has announced all of its European tyre plants, European R&D Centre and Proving Ground in Rome, Italy, its PCT plant in Lanklaar, Belgium, textile plant in Usansolo, Spain and its EMIA headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, are now powered by electricity from 100% renewable sources.

Van Hool NV of Koningshooikt, Belgium, has set up a new subsidiary in the UK called Van Hool UK Ltd. Based in Wellingborough, it will undertake the import, distribution, sales and aftersales support of the company’s bus and coach products.

Truck manufacturers and environmentalists have joined forces to push for the deployment of 11,000 charging points for electric trucks across the EU by 2025, rising to 42,000 by 2030.

A new multi-billion Euro Digital Europe Programme has been given approval by the European Council (EC) to proceed. The programme is aimed at boosting digital transformation by providing funding for rolling out cutting-edge technology in crucial areas such as artificial intelligence, supercomputing and cybersecurity. With a budget of EUR7,588m, the programme is scheduled to run for the period 2021-2027, starting retroactively from January 1, 2021.

The European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), based in Brussels, has agreed a set of new labels for electric vehicles and charging stations for certifying compliance with the EU Directive on the deployment of alternative fuels and infrastructure (2014/94/EU). The new labels will start to be used throughout Europe as of March 20 this year.

A European Union consortium consisting of 25 leading organisations in the hydrogen sector has been established to define, develop and test the first European standard for fuel cell modules for heavy duty applications.

Cummins Inc of Columbus, Indiana, USA used Busworld last month to introduce the X12 engine with up to 480hp (360kW) output for powering full size touring and intercity 12-to-15m coaches.

A new overhead wire system in the Italian city of Pescara is to charge battery-powered buses equipped with In Motion Charging (IMC) technology from Kiepe Electric GmbH of Dusseldorf, Germany, a subsidiary of Knorr-Bremse AG of Munich.

Climate control and refrigeration specialist, Thermo King, has introduced new connectivity functionalities to its undermount self-powered truck refrigeration units.