The hydrogen fuel cell bus was developed following a successful tender won from Indian Oil in June 2021.

"Ashok Leyland’s mission to achieve Net Zero by year 2048 is one of the triggers to set up this plant in Uttar Pradesh."

Domestic sales of buses and coaches (7.5t gvw and above) increased by 47.7% in the second quarter (July to September, Q2) of the financial year 2023-24 to register 11,321 units, up from 7,665 units in the same period of FY 2022-23.

Sales of light-duty buses (7.5t & below) surged by 24% to register 13,142 units in Q2 of FY 2023-24 from 10,595 units in Q2 of FY2022-23.

Sales of LCV goods carrier vehicles (trucks) of gvw ≤ 7.5t remained steady in Q2 of FY 2023-24, rising just 0.5% to 140,991 units compared with 141,635 units in same period of FY 2022-23.

Tractor sales grew by 43.5% during the second quarter (Q2) of FY 2023-24 to register 17,539 units compared with 12,221 units in the same quarter of the previous year (FY 2022-23).

Sales of medium- and heavy-duty rigid trucks (7.5t gvw and above) in India grew by 8.7% in the second fiscal quarter (July-September, Q2) of FY 2023-24 to register 64,995 units from 59,778 units in the same quarter of fiscal year 2022-23.

With this delivery, Ashok Leyland claims it is the first OEM to supply a vehicle with an in-house developed LNG engine compliant to BS VI Stage II emissions guidelines. Ashok Leyland also launched a CNG version of the 1922 4x2 haulage truck.

Representing an approximate investment of USD600m, the new facility will be developed along “vertical production” principles a la Tesla, meaning that battery and vehicle assembly will take place at the same location.

Epsilon announced that it expects to break ground at a new 1.5 million-square-foot facility in 2024 with manufacturing beginning in 2026. Once at full capacity in 2031, the factory is to produce 50,000 tons of graphite anode per year.

JBM Electric Vehicles unveiled two new e-buses designed for the European market. The company displayed its electric city bus (the Ecolife) and its luxury coach, Galaxy

Zita Zigan, Director, Global Commercial Vehicle Forecasts at GlobalData, in a webinar held at the end of June, provided a positive outlook for the global truck market in 2023, 2024 and beyond. Zigan, in her presentation, highlighted some of the many factors influencing different markets in Europe, North America and the BIC countries. Below is a summary of some of her analysis of the global truck markets.