Patrick Burghardt replaces Aydogan Cakmaz, who has retired

From a group of old farm buildings in Oxfordshire, one man hopes to change the world’s approach to decarbonising heavy vehicles. In 2022, James Budgett set up a holding company, Metier Ventures, and bought Metier Technologies Ltd, a company which he had established back in 1984, from foreign ownership. With financial support from a business partner, Budgett set the company on a new course: converting diesel trucks to run solely on hydrogen. Although the idea of retrofitting a used vehicle is not an original one, Metier’s proposed business model differs from the usual course of carrying out the conversion work on the diesel engine. Instead, Metier would replace the old engine entirely with a gas engine, fresh off the production line, with a few tweaks and some substitute parts so it will run on hydrogen. With this model, Budgett believes he can offer an attractive and scalable alternative that remains far cheaper than acquiring a brand-new electric vehicle.

Gales will become the deputy to company chairman and owner, Jo Bamford, taking responsibility for Wrightbus’s global development across its sites in Northern Ireland, Germany, and Malaysia.

Each vehicle is powered by a 145 kW electric motor paired with an Allison T280R fully automatic six-speed transmission. The transmission plays a key role in ensuring smooth, jolt-free acceleration, reduced energy consumption, and improved driving comfort, particularly in stop-start urban traffic.

The light-duty truck is available with a choice of plug-in hybrid and pure battery power

The new models to be sold in the Americas from 2028.

Under the draft, different types of commercial vehicles would carry different colour-coded plates to first identify them as being hydrogen-powered and then to identify them as being in a certain segment.

The company exceeded its target of USD471m in raised capital and achieved a market valuation of USD3.65bn.

Deliveries under the agreement will take place throughout 2025 and into 2026, supporting both new-build buses and fleet expansion projects in multiple US states.

Together with the Terberg group and Terberg Environmental, Ros Roca opened a new facility at the Tàrrega site, expanding the total site area to 96,000 square metres.

The new LPO 1622 model, designed for staff transport, is powered by a 5.6L Euro VI engine, producing 220 hp and 925 Nm of torque.

The platform provides fleet managers with real-time trailer data, digital contract management, and access to Krone’s full suite of online services.