On 9 March 2023, the Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum hosted a conference, bringing together policymakers and private stakeholders, as well as representatives from local government, to discuss the UK’s progress towards the 2030 ban of petrol and diesel cars and vans. In this T&BB report, Bradley Osborne presents the salient points which arose from the discussion.

Volvo Buses plans to wrap up its operations in Wrocław by the end of the first quarter of 2024, affecting 1,600 jobs.

UD Trucks working with autonomous driving system software and hardware provider and integrator, Finland’s Sensible 4 Oy.

Two ‘FH Electric’ trucks will be trialled in the Kankberg mine near Skellefteå, transporting rock bolts and other equipment as well as rock and ore.

The Swedish manufacturer announced the delivery of its first electric truck to Morocco, reportedly making it the first global brand with a heavy electric truck in commercial operation in Africa.

DAF has announced expansion of its Eindhoven manufacturing plant to accommodate the assembly of its electric truck range, with series production of the XD and XF Electric range to commence in spring 2023.

'Smart Dash' is powered by a new system architecture which Scania claims will enable “smarter and quicker” communication and more robust cybersecurity.

The vehicles will be powered by BAE Systems’ third generation Series-E full hybrid drivetrain, consisting of a 250kW electric traction motor, a 150kW Euro 6 combustion engine, and a 1kWh ultracapacitor energy storage system.

The proportion of vehicles sold with electric, hydrogen and hybrid drives increased from 41% to over half (55% - 823 versus 669 units with internal combustion engines), marking the first time in the company’s history that buses with alternative drives have outsold conventional ones. 

This distribution plan of SANY electric trucks into Europe was initiated some six or seven months ago with the unveiling and launch of the iONTRON eMixer truck at Bauma 2022, which was held in Munich, Germany last October.

The company announced the appointment of Barbaros Oktay to the new role of Head of Bus, replacing Rudi Kuchta in the leadership role of MAN’s bus division.

This new division is the working combination of two formerly independent companies, V.S.E. Vehicle Systems Engineering B.V. (VSE) of Veenendaal, near Utrecht, Netherlands and Hemscheidt Fahrwerktechnik GmbH & Co. KG of Haan, Germany.