The company is investing EUR 600 million to transform the facility into a hub for manufacturing electric and hydrogen-powered buses, including the Heuliez GX Elec, Iveco E-Way and the new E-Way-H2 hydrogen model.

The companies are set to develop a fully electrified refrigerated trailer that aims to reduce emissions in the cold chain logistics industry.

Two of its French plants – one in Cholet, the other in Vannes – will see a gradual winding down of production before their eventual closure by 2026 at the latest.

This factory represents a major investment and will focus on producing lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles, including buses, trucks, and other commercial vehicles.

Ovarith Troeung of CEO HFC retrofit company cautioned that the company is still waiting for the “market to mature” before ramping up production. Evidently, it has learnt from the litany of startup vehicle companies that have gone bust over the last few years.

All new SmarTrailer’s will be equipped with TC Trailer Gateway, enabling real-time vehicle management. This systems monitors driver behaviour, vehicle location and gathers data (and transmits the data) from various trailer components such as temperature sensors, brake systems and tyre pressure.

Karsan has formed a strategic partnership with French dealer *Cosmobilis Group, which will play a crucial role in expanding Karsan's presence in several European markets, particularly in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. Cosmobilis Group will import Karsan’s electric buses, and this partnership will allow Karsan to enhance its sales and after-sales services while benefiting from Cosmobilis' experience in the sector.

The 100,000th engine was an XCURSOR 13 NG, a multi-fuel engine designed for the truck market, providing significant reductions in CO2 emissions and high reliability with an expected lifetime of 1.2 million kilometres.

Thanks to tweaks made to the engine, gearbox, and axles, as well as fitting class A+ tyres as standard, these trucks boast reduced fuel consumption of up to 3%.

In July, Renault Trucks hosted journalists in Lyon, France for a media day packed with presentations, workshops, a factory tour, and a ride and drive. No substantial announcements were made; instead, the point of the event was to show how Renault Trucks’ efforts to switch to electric vehicle production have moved from an “industrial and commercial reality” to an “operational reality”.

CaetanoBus supplied 12 H2.City Gold electric hydrogen-powered buses for the Paris Olympic Games.

This order will replace end-of-life diesel ICE buses with new battery-electric GX 337 ELEC (12 metres) and the GX 437 ELEC (18 metres) Heuliez buses. These buses are scheduled for delivery between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.