Using EasyMile’s autonomous driving technology and Rocsys’ ‘ROC-1’ hands-free charger, the two companies plan to completely automate the process of recharging a self-driving electric vehicle.

With Google Cloud generative AI, Valeo will overhaul its processes for vehicle component design, production, and integration, as well as its quality assurance and customer services.

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

The company says that, over the last few years, it has implemented an “ambitious strategic roadmap” towards becoming a “leading player” in sustainable and connected mobility.

Electric vans developed under the joint venture, called 'Flexis SAS', will be serially manufactured at Sandouville, where Renault has produced over a million mid-sized vans (‘Trafic’) since it opened ten years ago.

Milence says the hub will be “strategically located” for heavy-duty hauliers travelling between Paris and key settlements in Normandy, including Le Havre, Caen, Dieppe, and Rouen.

‘Renault Trucks City’ – a service outlet operated by the company’s dealership in the nearby commune of Corbas – will provide maintenance and repair services for medium-duty trucks and light commercial vehicles operated by its customers in the local area.

RTM has ordered 200 new generation 12.1 metre GX 337 ELEC single-deck buses, equipped with pantograph charging rails. The first 35 will be delivered by Q4 2024, with the order set to be completed by Q4 2027. The model will be manufactured at Heuliez’s plant in Rorthais.

The total number of city buses with alternative drivelines in European Union 27 countries plus the UK, Norway (NO), Iceland (ICE) and Switzerland (EU 27+4) totalled 13,466 units  comprising 6,354 electric buses (excludes trolley buses), 4,022 hybrid-electric buses, 2,883 CNG buses and 207, hydrogen (fuel cell) buses.

The 149 e-buses, which had been removed pending investigation of a fire, are being after a detailed report was sent to RATP in Paris explaining the main cause of the fire and the actions being taken to rectify the problem. The Bollore Group attributed the fire to “the assembly of an electronic component which caused a short-circuit between the cells making up the battery packs.“

In the heavy vehicle segment, the company sold 145,506 battery units in 2023 compared with 87,844 the previous year, a change of +65.6%. Conversely, in the light vehicle segment, 2023 sales rose to 25,831, a +11.5% increase from 2022 figures (23,175). Analysing total sales, 2023 saw a 54.3% growth, to 171,338, from 2022 sales figures of 111,019.

The initial phase will target hydrogen refuelling stations (under the TotalEnergies brand) in Belgium, France, the Netherlands and Germany over the next three years.