Bradley Osborne

‘My International' is a new digital service available to International truck and ‘IC Bus' customers that can be accessed by computer or mobile. The manufacturer says that the new platform will replace a “patchwork” of different media with a single system that will consolidate vehicle data and allow fleets to manage maintenance and repairs. When a vehicle requires attention, My International will alert the fleet manager, identify a dealer, and initiates communication so the manager can schedule an inspection.

| By Bradley Osborne - 24th May 2026 Germany – MAN Truck & Bus SE , a subsidiary of Traton based in Munich, Bavaria, claims it is

| By Bradley Osborne - 25th May 2026 Netherlands – Milence BV , the Daimler Traton Volvo truck charging joint venture based in

Belgium – The ACEA (i.e., the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association) of Brussels, Belgium has announced the election of Barbaros Oktay, currently head of the bus division at German manufacturer MAN , as chairman of the bus and coach sector for a single-year term.

| By Bradley Osborne - 26th May 2026 Germany – Traton SE of Munich, Bavaria – the parent of several commercial vehicle brands, including

Germany – Over two decades ago – following a century-long history of primarily supplying transmissions to combustion-engined vehicles – the ZF Group made the decision to invest in the development of its own electric drive technology. This was, in part, an anticipation of the industry-wide transition towards decarbonisation that came in the latter part of the 2010s; since then, ZF has produced two generations of central drives, electric axles, and low-floor e-axles for trucks, vans, buses, and coaches, not to mention the e-mobility products it has developed for passenger cars. Speaking recently with Truck & Bus Builder , Christian Feldhaus, the vice-president of ZF's CV transmission and hybrid business, discussed the commercial outcome of these investments: while the bus segment, especially city bus, is electrifying quickly, the truck segment has been slower to change, with a potential lag of about five years behind the industry's initial forecast. In response to the sluggish development of the electric truck market, ZF announced in 2024 a product that would allow for a new kind of heavy truck: a plug-in hybrid, marrying the best of both electric drive and conventional transmission technologies.

The new ‘Sunswap Technology Centre' will support the design, testing, development, and production of the company's transport refrigeration units, which can be powered exclusively by solar panels mounted on the roof of the semi-trailer. The site also includes a ‘Vehicle Maintenance Unit' for servicing customer trailers, with capacity for up to six vehicles.

Sweden – Volvo Trucks Corporation of Gothenburg, Sweden has announced that it will be launching two new 13-litre engines later this year, with diesel, natural gas, and (at a later date) hydrogen fuel options available.

Italy – At Transpotec Logitec, held between 13-16 May at Fiera Milano Rho in Milan, Italy, MAN Truck & Bus SE officially launched a battery electric version of its medium-duty ‘TGM' range, designed for urban and regional delivery, municipal, and construction applications.

China – The Auto Maintenance & Repair (AMR) Expo – an automotive aftermarket event co-organised by Messe Frankfurt – is not the kind of show that we would normally attend. This year's edition, held between 13-15 April across three halls in the Capital International Exhibition & Convention Center in Beijing, continued the show's growth trend since the COVID-19 pandemic, registering 23% more exhibitors (1,385) than in the year before. The bulk of the companies represented at the AMR expo are specialists in automotive maintenance, supplying testing and diagnostic tools and workshop equipment for servicing conventional and electric vehicles. However, AMR 2026 boasted a brand-new addition to the exhibitor list: a dedicated commercial vehicle zone, featuring four vehicle manufacturers and a programme of talks concerning the transportation of goods in China. The organisers' rationale for this expansion? Workshop owners need commercial vehicles to transport heavy tools and equipment; suitably, the vehicles on show were cab-chassis in the light and light-medium segments, upfitted with standard box bodies used in goods transportation in built-up areas of China.