Announced at IAA Mobility, the strategic partnership between MAN and TUM is intended to promote innovation and strengthen Munich’s position as a global centre for research and development.

According to Sono Motors, the public listing will support the further growth of the business by “enhanc[ing] liquidity”, attracting a “broader and more diverse investor base”, and boosting the company’s visibility.

The new company, called ‘Driventic’, will continue to operate out of Heidenheim and 25 other locations across the globe, although its operations will gradually be separated from those of its parent company.

The German supplier has reportedly hired nearly fifty new employees to work on a line that will produce high-voltage air conditioning compressors for electric vehicles.

There was a short span of time between the late 2010s and early 2020s when it seemed like retrofits would become a serious contender to new electric vehicles in the transition from the combustion engine. Several new companies began by offering retrofit services to convert used diesel vehicles to run on electric. Most of these startups have since fallen by the wayside; many of the remaining firms have survived by changing their business models. The general sluggishness of the electric vehicle market is, of course, partly to blame. However, these retrofit pioneers were also beset by unforeseen difficulties that made what appeared at the outset to be a winning formula – take a used vehicle, rip out the engine, put an electric powertrain in its place, and sell it on – into a more complicated equation. “We totally underestimated the complexity of converting a diesel vehicle into an electric one in the beginning,” said Holger Seefelder, who is responsible for commercial vehicle sales in the Europe, Middle East, & Africa region for German supplier Voith.

Miedreich will assume the CEO role as soon as incumbent CEO Dr Holger Klein and Prof Dr Peter Laier, the head of the Commercial Vehicle Solutions division, leave the company at the end of the month.

The order comprises 12 single-deck and 55 double-deck coaches, built on the Euro 5 ‘RR5 26.440’ chassis and with bodywork by Gemilang.

Under the agreement, Otokar will assemble complete Mercedes-Benz Conecto city buses (both solo and articulated versions) at its Sakarya plant, with Daimler Buses supplying all major components and specific production equipment.

ZF will present a semi-trailer installed with its electric drive system, dubbed ‘TrailTrax’, for brake energy recuperation.

The group has launched a medium term note programme which will be able to issue up to AUD5bn in bonds, equating to approximately EUR2.9bn.

Schmitz customers who use ‘TrailerConnect’ to monitor their trailers can now access Goodyear’s ‘TPMS Connect’ software without needing to install any additional hardware.

The spin-off aims to give Aumovio greater flexibility and focus in the fast-changing automotive technology sector, covering areas such as vehicle electronics, software, sensors, braking systems, and autonomous mobility platforms.