Traton and Hino are intensifying their cooperation in the field of electromobility. As part of their strategic partnership, the commercial vehicle subsidiaries of Volkswagen and Toyota have signed a joint venture agreement to speed up development for products with battery and FC technology.

The UTILITAS project addresses a weak point of electric waste vehicles: since they have heavy batteries or fuel cells on board, they can usually transport less waste than conventional refuse collection vehicles. A special collection container is intended to remedy this.

Volvo Buses has announced a further charging option for its electric buses for the coming year: starting in the fall of 2021, the manufacturer will also offer a roof-mounted pantograph for its Volvo 7900 Electric.

Through cooperations between Voltia and three European leasing companies, customers can use the electric van Nissan e-NV200 XL Voltia for less than 550 euros per month in leasing.

Volvo Trucks North America was awarded $21.7 million in grants to deploy 70 VNR Electric trucks in Southern California for regional freight distribution and drayage. Deliveries are to begin next year, with the order expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2022.

e-troFit, specialist for the conversion of diesel buses to electric drive, will bring out further series-ready electrification solutions for existing commercial vehicles in the next two years. This will involve retrofitting kits for the “most common models in Europe”.

The electric bus manufacturer Nexport has announced plans for the production of electric vehicles in a new plant in the Australian state of New South Wales. It will initially produce buses, but later also other types of vehicles such as cars, trucks and vans.

The Volkswagen subsidiary MAN Truck & Bus intends to give greater priority to hydrogen in its electrification strategy in future, in addition to the development and manufacture of battery-powered commercial vehicles. The Munich-based company will be testing hydrogen-powered vehicle prototypes as early as next year.

Wrightbus has turned to Skeleton Technologies to give them the first chance at commercialising their latest ultracapacitors. The Estonian company and Northern Ireland’s Wrightbus are gearing up for testing in fuel cell buses.

Volvo Trucks starts this month with the practical testing of an all-electric transport solution for the construction industry. Two heavy trucks will be delivered to the Scandinavian company Swerock.

British EV developer Arrival has announced its first micro-factory in the USA. It is under construction in York County in the state of South Carolina and scheduled to produce electric buses from the fourth quarter of 2021. The talk is of 1,000 battery buses per year.

The Swedish startup Einride has introduced the next generation of its autonomous electric truck T-Pod, making it commercially available worldwide for the first time. The company is relying on a subscription model for this. Initial customers include Lidl Sweden, Oatly, Bridgestone and Northvolt.

The Total Group, together with other investors, has taken a stake in Hyzon Motors, a US developer of fuel cell commercial vehicles. Nothing was announced regarding the actual investment sum.

Volkswagen subsidiary Scania made a solar cell clad trailer to power a plug-in hybrid truck and is preparing testing in Sweden. In Germany, Fraunhofer LBF was looking at semi-trucks as well and developed a lightweight high-voltage battery system for heavy-duty EVs.

Austria’s Rosenbauer presents the first all-electric fire engine based on a series chassis as the development builds on Volvo’s FL Electric also known from city logistics. The new truck allows flexible use, says Rosenbauer, not “only” firefighting.

Amazon presents the first tailor-made delivery van the company has developed together with Rivian. The all-electric transporter builds the base of an order that is easily not just the largest in Rivian’s young history but among the biggest in the world.

Hyundai has handed over the first seven units of its fuel cell truck XCIENT to customers in Switzerland. Hyundai plans to deliver a total of 50 such trucks to the Alpine nation this year. By 2025 a total of 1,600 of the H2 trucks will be allocated to the Swiss market.

In a virtual press event, ZF presented the company’s general outlook and provided details on its planned electrification activities in the commercial vehicle sector.

Siemens Energy and Siemens Mobility have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to offer hydrogen systems for trains and rail transport jointly. A timetable for development and the pilot projects has yet to be revealed.

In the UK, Peugeot has opened the order books for the e-Traveller all-electric passenger van. The e-Traveller should arrive in British showrooms in 2021. Customers can reserve a vehicle with a single, fully-refundable deposit of £250.

Alstom’s hydrogen train, the Coradia iLint, has passed as entirely operational in the Netherlands.

The strategic e-mobility and manufacturing partnership between General Motors and Nikola still awaits finalisation. The deal for electric trucks was supposed to be signed and sealed tomorrow, but according to GM, this is not yet the case.

German automotive supplier Mahle and the Canadian fuel cell manufacturer Ballard Power Systems have agreed to jointly develop and mass-produce fuel cell systems for commercial vehicles of various weight classes.

Throughout California, communities can now purchase battery-electric shuttle buses and vans from Lightning Systems on a new cooperative purchasing contract through the California Association for Coordinated Transportation.

The Mercedes eCitaro G articulated bus has celebrated its world premiere. The electric bus is now also optionally available with solid-state batteries that can provide a range of up to 220 kilometres. Mercedes has also revealed more on the series production of the eActros.

MAN Truck & Bus is preparing its European workshops for handling electric vehicles. The manufacturer is planning to equip a total of 110 service branches with the corresponding skills and tools by the end of 2020. A further 60 workshops are to follow by the end of 2021.

Renault Trucks is now offering various financing options their electric trucks. Renault Trucks Financial Services, the company’s leasing subsidiary, is providing the offers.

Trevor Milton, founder and Chairman of the Board of Nikola Motors, has resigned with immediate effect. Nikola has recently faced allegations of fraud.

Opel, known as Vauxhall in the UK, will electrify all light commercial vehicles by 2021. Enough for us to take a look at the all-electric van Vivaro-e and its passenger car variant, the Zafira-e. Our editor had a short test drive with both vehicles in Germany.

Hyundai has announced plans to sell hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks in the United States by 2022. The Korean company has confirmed its focus on H2 fuel cell for commercial vehicles, aiming to increase global FCEV sales yearly to 500,000 units in 2030.