Bradley Osborne

| By Bradley Osborne - 17th November 2024 Poland / Netherlands – Solaris Bus & Coach sp. z o.o. of Bolechowo, Poland has announced

Two of its French plants – one in Cholet, the other in Vannes – will see a gradual winding down of production before their eventual closure by 2026 at the latest. These sites have faced “severe economic difficulties for several years”, according to Michelin.

| By Bradley Osborne - 18th November 2024 Sweden – Volvo Trucks Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden has announced it is adding two

UK – Over a year ago, British startup Tevva Motors Ltd – which had already raised millions of dollars in funding on the strength of its 7.5 tonne prototype electric truck – announced plans to merge with an American company called ElectraMeccanica . It was an unlikely match: ElectraMeccanica had launched a single product, a battery-powered three-wheeler, which had to be recalled due to numerous technical faults. Following the merger, the new company, called ‘Tevva Inc', would begin with a cash balance between USD70-80m, debts of USD26m, and two facilities on either side of the Atlantic. It was apparently a marriage of convenience: a means to recapitalise Tevva's business and enter the American market; and when the deal collapsed, the declaration of bankruptcy, which came six months later, seemed as inevitable as the change of seasons.

New Flyer says it will repurpose existing space at its production facility in Winnipeg and lease another site for final vehicle commissioning. In doing so, the company will expand its production capacity of battery electric and fuel cell electric transit buses and trolleybuses to 240 equivalent units

| By Bradley Osborne - 20th November 2024 USA / Germany – At the end of October, Plus of Santa Clara, California announced the

| By Bradley Osborne - 21st November 2024 Germany – Motion technology specialist Schaeffler AG of Herzogenaurach, Bavaria has

The Northern Irish bus manufacturer says that the acquisition of RGI will mean that its retrofit business, dubbed ‘NewPower', will now be able to refurbish old buses in addition to replacing their engines with electric powertrains. Services added to NewPower's business offering include refreshing or replacing seat upholstery and repairing metalwork. These additions will ensure that Wrightbus can “maintain the entire life-cycle of the bus” for its customers, according to CEO Jean-Marc Gales.

| By Bradley Osborne - 22nd November 2024 USA – Samsara Inc of San Francisco, California has launched a new feature with its AI dash

, a dealership based in North Highlands, California. The manufacturer claims its electric vehicle is one of a kind, being a medium-duty zero-emission chassis paired with a pickup truck cab which is the “dominant” style in the American work truck industry. Zeus said it is proud to be able to offer “a U.S.-manufactured aluminum cab with design origins in fire truck construction methods” to customers, starting in California.