MAN Truck & Bus UK Ltd has opened a new state-of-the-art dealership in Gateshead just two miles from the A1(M) north/south motorway for providing support for the complete range of MAN vehicles, ie trucks, vans, buses and coaches.

Presenting a year-end overview of its performance in the markets of the UK and Ireland, James Charnock, commercial vehicle and services director at Renault Trucks UK, said while political uncertainty surrounding Brexit had driven some pre-buy activity this year, the result had been overall market growth in the medium and heavy-duty (MHD) truck sector with 47,000 registrations at the end of November – up 14% on 2018, exceeding expectations. 

Six Volvo Bus 7900e electric buses have entered service at Birmingham International Airport, which is claimed by Nick Barton, CEO of Birmingham Airport as the first UK airport to implement six fully electric landside buses.

Fiat Powertrain Technologies Industrial or FPT Industrial of Turin, the global powertrain brand of CNH Industrial NV, last month announced its agreement to acquire 100% of Dolphin N2, a start-up company formed in 2017 specializing in innovative internal combustion engine technology from global strategic engineering and environmental consultancy, Ricardo plc .

Wrightbus has completed its first delivery of new buses following its acquisition last month by new owners, Bamford Bus Company

Tata Steel Europe is now manufacturing an abrasion resistant steel called Valast 450 specially developed for the construction industry involving rugged applications such as tipper bodies for trucks and trailers, bodies on refuse collection vehicles and excavator buckets.

Three months’ on from the strategic and exclusive heavy-duty truck partnership signed between CNH Industrial NV and Nikola Corporation, the partners, in Turin this month, announced it was now giving maximum priority to the development of its European business.

Specialist trailer builder, Van Hool NV, is initiating a new sales push of its container and swap body chassis in France.

The UK’s first Volvo I-Shift Dual Clutch equipped Volvo FM rigid has been delivered by Volvo Trucks UK Ltd of Warwick.

Independent trials of two 26-tonne, 6x2 Mercedes-Benz Econic refuse collection vehicles equipped with the Allison Transmission 3000 Series 6-speed fully automatic gearbox, retrofitted with Allison’s latest FuelSense 2.0 software, has produced fuel savings of 8.85% according to Scottish local authority, Fife Council, which undertook the study.

Following a pledge by the UK government to create Britain’s first ‘all-electric bus towns’, automotive engineering, testing and R&D consultancy, Horiba MIRA Ltd, is advising operators to consider converting their existing bus fleets from diesel powered units to electric drive systems as a way to helping the UK to achieve a cleaner public transport network.

Gray & Adams, a supplier of temperature-controlled semi-trailers and rigid vehicle bodywork, has designed an automated loading pod, built inside an extra-long 15.6m refrigerated body, which can hold up to 60 pallets at temperatures as low as -22 degrees C.