The return of the IAA (Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung) commercial vehicle show in 2022 is remarkable in itself, given that the last exhibition was held in 2018; the biannual event should have taken place again in 2020, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The battery-electric van can now be ordered with a flatbed platform manufactured by Schoon Fahrzeugsysteme, complete with aluminium tailgate and sidewalls.

The automotive corporation has set up a new company called PowerCo which will be responsible for production at the facility - set to begin in 2025 - and for global marketing of battery products for the group.

At the end of 2022, Dr Holger Klein will replace Wolf-Henning Scheider as CEO and Dr Peter Laier will replace Wilhelm Rehm as head of Commercial Vehicle Solutions.

Air Liquide and Siemens Energy AG is to form a joint venture in Berlin for series production of industrial scale renewable hydrogen electrolyzers in Europe to aid acceleration of the hydrogen economy.

Jebsen & Jessen Industrial Solutions will oversee the sale and service of Mellor’s Sigma and Orion-E buses in Germany and Austria.

The corporation has made a EUR50m equity investment into Vulcan Energy, which is currently operating a zero-emission project in the Upper Rhine Valley for the extraction of critical vehicle battery elements.

Over the next five years, the German manufacturer will invest approximately EUR100m to prepare the Nuremberg facility for mass production of over 100,000 battery packs per year, starting with small-scale production in mid-2023.

The German manufacturer tested a prototype city bus fitted with an autonomous driving system which allows the vehicle to independently manoeuvre itself into place at a designated stop.

Jean Chereau S.A.S of Ducey, France, has announced a partnership with Sono Motors GmbH of Munich with the intention of developing a test vehicle to study the integration of a new solar solution into a high-volume production refrigerated trailer. The test vehicle will form part of the firm’s demonstration fleet and will be on show at the 2022 IAA event.

The Neu-Ulm plant belonging to Stuttgart-based Daimler Truck AG has started series production of the Setra brand’s Next-gen ComfortClass and TopClass 500 interurban and coach models.

Gao will direct the global strategy of Mercedes-Benz, in particular leveraging his knowledge of Asian growth markets such as China.