Speaking with Deniz Cetin, Chief Commercial Officer at Karsan Automotive & Board Member at Group Companies at Cenex (2023), T&BB was informed that Karsan has bid on autonomous electric bus contracts (tenders) in Spain, Israel, Qatar and Canada. Deniz confirmed that Karsan recently delivered an autonomous bus to Istanbul which comes off the back of two successful autonomous bus trials in Norway and the USA.

About the retrofit of the H2 ICE engine, Lord Bamford, JCB Chairman, said: “We have retrofitted this vehicle with a JCB hydrogen engine to demonstrate how simple it will be to convert existing vans and to show that it is not only construction and agricultural machines that can be powered by hydrogen. While converting vans will not be for JCB to do, it does prove there is something else other than batteries that can work very effectively.”

New trails of electric parcel delivery vans will take place shortly ahead of an announcement by First Hydrogen of when and where it will to start series production. First Hydrogen says the aim of the trials is to gather more data on fuel consumption, usage and efficiency, to calculate the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) more accurately.

UK operator, Newport Transport, appoints Equipmake to convert 8 of its double-deckers to electric power with its Zero Emission Drivetrain (ZED).

The vehicle shown was a 26-tonne ‘E-Tech D Wide’ 6x2 chassis with inward folding "bus-style" doors and low step height.

Intellectual property, offices, and testing facilities based in Apeldoorn, Netherlands have now been transferred to ConMet, and former staff associated with the heavy-duty motor development have moved to ConMet as well.

A multi-year deal signed earlier this year with waste management company, Biffa, ensures that an initial order of up to ten 26-tonne Mercedes-Benz Econic diesel-powered refuse vehicles will be repowered with Lunaz electric drivetrains, saving an estimated 210 tonnes of carbon a year.

The bus manufacturer said it is looking to fill around 100 skilled and semi-skilled production positions at its factory in Northern Ireland, along with 50 apprenticeships.

The Enviro400EVs are fitted with roof-mounted charging rails that allow their 472kWh battery system to be topped up from pantographs installed at the Harrogate bus station.

The company now aims to acquire certificates from FMVSS, as well as the California Air Resources Board and the Environmental Protection Agency, before the end of the year, making its ‘P7’ vehicles roadworthy and eligible for incentives.

The new test centre, jointly operated by FEV Group, in Oued Zem complements two cold weather sites in Finland, north of the Arctic Circle.

11,174 units were registered in total, making for a fifth consecutive quarter of growth, according to statistics published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).