2025_02_Sustainable Truck&Van

MAGAZINE

VADO E TORNO EDIZIONI

www.vadoetorno.com

www.vadoetornoweb.com

www.sustainabletruckvan.com

VADOETORNO SUPPLEMENT

Squid

GAME

18 Cover story

Electric and hydrogen

startups seem to be

running for their lives

26 Insight

BorgWarner has got

ambitious plans for its

European Gigafactory

40 Smart tests

Nissan Interstar-E,

Ford Pro’s new electric

and PHEV van range

April

2025

Organised by

sustainabletruckvan.com

CONTENTS

APRIL 2025

Awards

10 SUSTAINABLE TRUCK OF THE YEAR

Four categories, four winners in 2025

15 - 18 OctOber 2025

Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre | www.omanevshow.com

Face-to-face

12 LET’S MAKE IT CLEANER

Jacob Richard, PM at California-based Calstart

14 IT AIN’T OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER

Volta Trucks’ Carla Detrieux and Anthony Buron

Co-located with

16 WHEN CHINA MEETS EUROPE

FLYNT founder and CEO, Daniel Kirchert

Join us in the

EVolution

14

FOLLOW SUSTAINABLE TRUCK&VAN ON:

Cover story

18 SAILING THROUGH STORMY SEAS

Electric and hydrogen CV startups

Insight

24 WHAT A BET ON ELECTRIFICATION

Inside BorgWarner’s European Gigafactory

Preview

28 E-VANS CALLING FROM PARIS

Flexis unveals their software-defined prototypes

Preview

32 POSTCARDS FROM ITALY

We attended the inauguration of a Milence hub

Market trends

34 BACK TO SQUARE ONE

It’s no much different in the U.S.

24

36 BUSINESS AS USUAL

No boost in Europe as for ZE trucks&vans

Smart tests

40 THE ELECTRIC SUNRISE

Nissan Interstar large van, now also electric

44 UN-FOUR-GETTABLE

BEVs or PHEVs: Ford Pro’s renewed range

Columns

5 At a glance 48 Techno 50 Infrastructure

For Exhibiting Enquiries and Sponsorship Opportunities please contact:

Ms. Ulrika Varela, Project Director

M: +968 93961624 | info@muscat-expo.com

44

Sharing the same destiny

Europe and the U.S. are at a crossroad when it comes

to promoting sustainable transportation. In both cases,

policies are paramount to shape the future p.4

3

NEWS GOOD START

AT A GLANCE

WHEN GLOBAL UNCERTAINTIES REFLECT ON THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

It's time to grow big on sustainability

EUROPE AND THE U.S. ARE CLOSELY CONNECTED IN THIS REGARD

GETTING READY FOR A NEW EDITION OF ACT EXPO, FROM 28 APRIL TO 1 MAY

Sustainable fleets, all eyes on California

WE WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE INTERNATIONAL EVENT

When it comes to

sustainable mobility,

even the industrialized

and rich North America is

having a rather complex time.

Indeed, the election of Donald

Trump last year has magnified

the doubts of those who are

trying to change the concept

of commercial transportation

over there. Trump might

destroy the regulatory path and

neglecting the large amount

of resources that predecessor

Joe Biden had begun to

devote to the development of

sustainable mobility, including

commercial one.

This is one of the reasons why

participating in this year’s

ACT Expo is paramount for

us. Confirming the media

partnership set last year, for

the first time we’re attending the show, so to see the product launches

and news coming from California, as well as understand what the

current sentiment about sustainable mobility is.

What about Europe, then? Some of the startups mentioned in

our Cover story are based in Europe. Plus, the most concrete and

advanced project of an all-European battery value chain did not

last long following the bankruptcy declared by Northvolt. Car and

truck makers are talking a lot with the president of the European

Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, at least to avoid the sanctions

foreseen for those who will not comply with the CO 2

targets. But

there’s more. Industry leaders are aware that zero-emission vehicles

are not truly competitive so far, with unsatisfying market figures in

the Western world (see our articles about Europe and the U.S.). It

would not be a surprise if the EU decides to change the roadmap

outlined a few years ago. All this would then pave the way for an

even noisier debate about the future of global automotive.

4

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ACT Expo is by far the most important exhibition in North

America as for clean commercial mobility. Part of our

editorial staff will be in Anaheim, California, from

April 28 to May 1. Throughout the four-day event, more

speakers than ever – nearly 300 fleet executives and

industry innovators – will share case studies, strategies,

and insights into the biggest operating challenges

and competitive opportunities in the commercial

transportation space. There will be six keynote speakers:

Jennifer Rumsey, Chair and Chief Executive Officer,

Cummins, Inc., Mathias Carlbaum, President and Chief

Executive Officer, International, Catharina Modahl

Nilsson, Member of the Executive Board of TRATON

SE, Group Product Management, TRATON, Patti Poppe,

Chief Executive Officer, PG&E Corporation, Lars

Stenqvist, Chief Technology Officer, Volvo Group, and

Jim Walenczak, Vice President, PACCAR Inc and General

Manager, Kenworth Truck Company.

In addition to keynote speakers, nearly 300 industry

expert speakers representing progressive fleet operators,

commercial vehicle manufacturers, suppliers, infrastructure

providers, and clean fuel companies will share their

expertise. This year, slightly less than 500 companies will

have their booth at ACT Expo. Not only vehicle makers,

but also companies specializing in key components,

infrastructure, fleet management solutions, and so on. Some

insights? Kenworth will make an exciting announcement

related to its Class 8 truck product line, while Hyundai will unveil

something new about the existing XCIENT hydrogen Class 8 truck.

Volvo will focus its participation on the enhanced zero-emission

roadmap, while Mack Trucks will present its top-notch Class 8 truck

in both its ICE and BEV versions. Then, something exciting will

come from Cummins, Greenlane, Siemens, Plus, Kempower, and

many more players.

TESLA SEMI ORDERED

Leading provider of heavy-duty

freight electrification services

and facilities Watt EV apparently

ordered 40 Tesla Semi electric

trucks, to be deployed by 2026

at the latest. As part of the

agreement, WattEV has taken

delivery of two Semis to expand

its freight-hauling service range

in 2025.

The trucks will be used at the

ports of Long Beach and Los

Angeles.

WattEV has been leading the

freight electrification market with

a growing network of charging

depots in California. Indeed, the

company claims to close 2024

with 2 million miles of electric

heavy-duty freight in Southern

California.

.A pic from last year’s edition of ACT Expo.

Van-based cooperation

Stellantis Pro One and IVECO announced a

collaboration that provides for the European

commercialisation of two 100% electric vehicles

under the IVECO brand, produced by Stellantis

Pro One. The new e-van models will be sold

and serviced exclusively by the official IVECO

network in Europe (UK included).

The vans will be based on the Stellantis Pro One

mid-size and large van all-electric platforms,

ranging from 2.8 to 4.25 Gross Vehicle Weight

(GVW), and will be produced at Stellantis’ plants

in Atessa (Italy), Gliwice (Poland), and Hordain

(France).

These vehicles expand and enhance IVECO’s

LCV portfolio alongside the iconic eDaily,

produced in Italy in the historic IVECO plant in

Suzzara and electrified in the Brescia facility.

In addition, at IAA 2024 IVECO launched the

eMoovy, developed in cooperation with Hyundai

and with GVW ranging from 2.5 to 3.5 tons.

5

AT A GLANCE

AT A GLANCE

SWEDISH BATTERY MAKER NORTHVOLT’S BANKRUPTCY

Battery cells are not coming to West

THE COMPANY STRUGGLED BUT WAS FORCED TO GIVE UP IN THE END

A CHALLENGING JOURNEY FOR THE BRAND-NEW MAN ETGX

From icy Lapland to warmer Munich

ONLY PUBLIC CHARGING STATIONS HAVE BEEN USED DURING THE TEST

On March 12, the board of directors at Northvolt announced

the company had filed for bankruptcy in Sweden. “Like many

companies in the battery sector, Northvolt has experienced a series

of compounding challenges in recent months that eroded its financial

position, including rising capital costs, geopolitical instability,

subsequent supply chain disruptions, and shifts in market demand”,

stated the Swedish player in an official note published on the website.

“Despite pursuing all available options to negotiate and implement a

financial restructuring, including a Chapter 11 restructuring process in

the United States, and despite liquidity support from our lenders and

key counterparties, the company was unable to secure the necessary

financial conditions to continue in its current form”.

Ultimately, with limited time and financial resources available,

the company was unable to conclude the necessary agreements to

secure its future. As pointed out by Northvolt, “the entities Northvolt

AB, Northvolt Ett AB, Northvolt Labs AB, Northvolt Revolt AB

and Northvolt Systems AB filed with the Swedish court. Northvolt

Germany and Northvolt North America are not filing for bankruptcy

in their respective jurisdictions. As wholly owned subsidiaries of

Northvolt AB, any decisions regarding these entities will be made by

the court-appointed trustee of Northvolt AB in consultation with the

Group’s lenders at the appropriate time”.

“This is an incredibly difficult day for everyone at Northvolt. We set

out to build something groundbreaking — to drive real change in the

battery, EV and wider European industry and accelerate the transition

to a green and sustainable future”, declared Tom Johnstone, Interim

Chairman of Northvolt’s Board of Directors.

“The outcome is especially hard considering not only the level

of engagement and interest we held with potential partners and

investors in recent months, but also the clear improvement and

upwards trajectory that we have been seeing in Northvolt’s

production in Skellefteå, where cell output from serial production

lines has doubled and we have secured a 50% improvement in

production yield since September.”

THE KOREAN CHALLENGE

Global automotive player Kia

has unveiled the final version of

its PV5 electric van. According

to Kia, the PV5’s contemporary

design transcends traditional

light commercial vehicles,

featuring a fresh aesthetic

that emphasises flexibility and

customisation through a modular

approach.

As for the cargo version, the

PV5 Cargo

shares the

same geometric

design as the

PV5 Passenger. It features a

boxier profile that reflects its

enhanced space efficiency. A

key difference lies in the Cargo’s

twin side-opening tailgate doors,

which provide practicality and

easy access for loading and

unloading, allowing users to

customise their experience to

meet their specific needs. Finally,

the rear design complements the

sleek side lines,

providing a solid

and modern

look.

Founded about ten years ago, Swedish battery

maker Northvolt had the ambition to create

an all-European value chain as for EV battery

production.

Robust and electric

At bauma, the leading exhibition focused

on construction and mining machines and

equipment held in Munich at the beginning of

April, Mercedes-Benz Trucks launched the

brand-new eArocs 400, the first battery-electric

variant of the tried-and-tested workhorse from

Mercedes-Benz Trucks.

A small series of 150 vehicles per year is

currently planned for selected markets in Europe.

The vehicle will initially be

available as a 32- and 41-

ton variant in the 8×4 axle

configuration with four

different wheelbases and

can be built as a concrete

mixer or construction

tipper. The Start of Sales

is scheduled for the 1st

quarter of 2026, the first

delivery in the 3rd quarter of 2026. For the new

eArocs 400, Mercedes-Benz Trucks is adopting

essential components from the eActros 600. In

addition to the front box and the power take-off

(PTO), this also includes the batteries based on

lithium iron phosphate cell technology (LFP).

These batteries feature in particular a high

durability and a particularly high usable battery

capacity.

The MAN Polarexpress, a battery-powered eTGX semitrailer

truck, sets off on 3000-km tour from icy Lapland to Munich,

charging only with public charging infrastructure. The 3000-km tour

comprises a total of seven stages: from the Arctic Circle along the

Swedish east coast to Stockholm, from there through the interior of

the country to Malmö in southern Sweden, on to Copenhagen and

through Denmark to Hamburg and from there via Schweinfurt once

through Germany to the destination in Munich.

On average, the MAN eTGX covers between 400 and 600 kilometres

a day, depending on the route conditions and available charging

infrastructure. It will also make a longer stop at the MAN site in

Copenhagen to visit the service and sales team there. “With this tour,

we want to show once again that with the new MAN eTruck, the

drive transition in international long-distance transport is already

possible today and can be implemented in practice”, said Friedrich

Baumann, Executive Board Member for Sales & Customer Solutions

at MAN Truck & Bus.

“We offer numerous helpful solutions around the eTruck, such as

MAN Charge&Go, which make it easier for our customers to switch

from diesel to electric. And the fact that we can already drive purely

electrically from the Arctic Circle to Munich and rely exclusively

on publicly accessible charging infrastructure is a positive sign.

However, there is still a lot to be done here throughout Europe! In

order to make a comprehensive drive turnaround in long-distance

transport with millions of trucks a reality, major efforts and

investments in the expansion of the necessary high-performance

charging infrastructure are still needed”.

CHINA CALLING

UK official dealer Jameel Motors has recently

welcomed the first delivery of Farizon SV

vans to the United Kingdom. The electric vans

manufactured by the commercial vehicle division

of Geely Holding Group have been recently

awarded with the Platinum rating at the Euro

NCAP safety tests.

Now, the long-awaited electric commercial

vehicles have concretely reached the UK,

as showed by the picture below. Arrived in

Felixstowe, Suffolk, the first batch of vans

encompassed two of the eight variants that

will be available in the UK initially with further

deliveries following. First deliveries are foreseen

by the first half of 2025.

All-new truck platform

Along with the new long-haul Volvo VNL model

released in early 2024, the all-new VNR for regional

transportation is built under a brand-new platform,

developed by Volvo to increase the truck efficiency.

According to the manufacturer, this contributes to

reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by up

to 7,5% in the new Volvo VNR. What’s particularly

interesting is that the new platform is designed for

all future propulsion technologies, including batteryelectric,

fuel cell and internal combustion engines

running on renewable fuels including hydrogen.

Production will start at the plant located in Dublin,

Virginia, in the

coming months.

The all-new

Volvo VNR was

developed with

versatility in mind

and is available

in a variety of

configurations.

6

7

AT A GLANCE

SCANIA AND DHL TEST E-TRUCK WITH FUEL-POWERED RANGE EXTENDER

Unconventional hybrid attempt

THE SOLUTION WILL ALLOW GRADUAL SHIFT TO CLEANER TRANSPORT

ANOTHER RECORD YEAR FOR ZERO-EMISSION TRUCK SALES IN CHINA

Tired of growing? Not at all...

ZE REGISTRATIONS OVERCOME 10% IN MEDIUM- AND HEAVY-TRUCKS

Scania and DHL will test an electric truck with a so-called

‘fuel-powered range extender’. It means a fuel-powered generator

will be used, conceived as an interim solution while fully electric

trucks are being scaled and charging infrastructure built. According

to Scania and DHL, the vehicle helps to overcome these hurdles

while enabling DHL to drive 80-90% on renewable electricity.

The new e-truck will be deployed by the Post & Parcel Germany

division for parcel transport between Berlin and Hamburg to test its

performance in day-to-day operations, before additional vehicles are

added to DHL’s fleet. The fuel-powered generator replaces one of

the battery packs in a fully electric truck not needed for the majority

of the transport routes, thus reducing the range coming from the

batteries, but providing back-up energy. The truck has a possible

range of 650 to 800 km (subject to the findings from the test).

“The future is electric, but perfect must not be the enemy of good

as we are getting there”, commented Scania CEO, Christian Levin.

“The vehicle we have developed together with DHL is an example of

interim solutions that can enhance the scaling of decarbonised heavy

transport before the transport system eventually becomes 100 percent

electrified. An effective climate transition requires that policymakers

accept such solutions, while ramping up their investments in public

infrastructure and other enabling conditions”.

“Instead of waiting for this day to come, DHL and Scania are

collaborating on a pragmatic solution for making logistics more

sustainable and reduce CO 2

emissions by more than 80%. This

vehicle is a sensible, practical solution that can make an immediate

contribution”, added DHL Group CEO Tobias Meyer.

8

FUEL CELL DELIVERY

IVECO has delivered two IVECO S-eWay Fuel

Cell heavy-duty trucks to BMW. The latter is also

part of H2Haul project, co-financed by the Clean

Hydrogen Partnership, aims to demonstrate the

high reliability of hydrogen-powered trucks as a

viable zero-emission solution. The trucks were

showcased at a special event hosted by BMW

at its manufacturing plant in Leipzig (Germany)

to provide insight into the use of hydrogen

across the manufacturer’s value chain. The

trucks, boasting a range of up to 800 km, and

fast-refuelling time of under 20 minutes, can

accommodate 70 kg of compressed H2 at 700-

bar pressure. At the same time, two hydrogen

refueling stations were inaugurated.

Mini-BEV from Japan

Toyota, Daihatsu and Suzuki are jointly developing

their electric mini commercial vehciles by 2025.

The three Japanese manufacturers had already

announced the intention to cooperate on such a

special segment of EVs a couple of years ago,

hoping to reach the market by the end of 2023.

The mini-commercial van BEV, jointly developed

by the three companies, “combines Suzuki and

Daihatsu’s expertise in creating small-size cars

with Toyota’s electrification technology and is

equipped with a BEV system suitable for minicommercial

vehicles”. Commercial Japan Partnership

Technologies

Corporation also

participated in

the planning to

achieve a vehicle

with optimal

specifications for

efficient last-mile

logistics.

According to the latest study released by the ICCT

(International Council on Clean Transportation), Over 230,000 zeroemission

trucks and buses were sold in China last year. It is a record

figure, mainly due to a strong macroeconomic stimulus package

released by the Chinese government in September, as reported by the

ICCT.

More into details of the zero-emission vehicles sold, battery electric

technology dominated the zero-emission market for both medium

and heavy trucks, accounting for 13% and 14%, respectively.

In contrast, fuel cell trucks remained as a nascent technology.

Additionally, the zero-emission heavy truck market is rapidly

consolidating as leading manufacturers successfully scale their

operations to significant levels. The top five manufacturers (XCMG,

SANY, FAW, Shacman, and Yutong) captured 61% of the market.

Finally, the use of battery swapping technology, whereby a depleted

electric vehicle battery can be switched out for a fully charged

replacement, has gained in popularity in China in recent years,

particularly for trucks and tractors. In 2024, sales of swap-capable

vehicles reached a total of 29,569, a 94% growth from 2023.

Topping the chart

According to Volvo Trucks, 47% of all electric trucks

registered in Europe in 2024 are made by Volvo.

Indeed, the Swedish manufacturer claims the lead for

the fifth year in a row. We’re talking about the truck

market segment over 16 ton, and considering the EU

27 plus the UK, Norway and Switzerland.

A total of 1,970 electric Volvo trucks were registered

in Europe during the year. The top five markets for

Volvo’s electric trucks in 2024 were Germany, the

Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.

Volvo Trucks also has a leading position in North

America (the U.S. and Canada), with a heavy electric

truck segment share of more than 40% in 2024.

“We have a very strong electric truck portfolio for

regional, city and construction transport. Our next

electric truck to the market will be running longer

distances of up to 600 kilometers on one single

charge,” said Roger Alm, President Volvo Trucks.

BATTERIES AND ENGINES ASSEMBLED SIDE BY SIDE

MAN Truck & Bus officially launched

its battery production at the Nuremberg

production site. In addition to the

approximately 100 million euros

already invested in the production

facility that has now been launched,

a further 150 million euros will be

invested in the coming years to further

develop expertise in the field of battery

technology. Overall, the investments

in Nuremberg will secure around 400

jobs in a technology of the future and

further advance the transformation

of the site. In the current expansion

stage, 50,000 battery packs can be

produced per year in Nuremberg. The

start of battery production is the second

new production line to be opened in

Nuremberg this year. The production

of the latest generation of MAN diesel

engines, which are used in the new

D30 PowerLion driveline, also secures

many jobs at the site. Both projects

are worth about half a million euros

investment from MAN.

Alongside the latest

generation of diesel

engines, MAN will

assembly battery modules

and packs at its facility in

Nuremberg.

9

AWARDS

STY 2025: THE AWARDED VEHICLES

FOUR IS

A MAGIC

NUMBER

With the meaningful addition of the eTruck category, alongside the

other conventional categories, the Sustainable Truck of the Year

Awards shift even more towards zero-emission vehicles. This year,

Volvo won two prizes with the FH, while the ‘lighter’ ones went to

the IVECO Eurocargo and the Renault Trucks Master E-Tech.

This is an important year for the Sustainable

Truck of the Year (STY) Awards. Indeed,

the 2025 edition of the innovative awards

will be remembered for the entry of electric

heavy-duty trucks on the scene with a dedicated

category. Of course, all-electric vehicles

have been in the spotlight for a few years now.

But now they are here, can be seen, touched

and bought. And they work. So, here’s how the

STY Awards change, update, and keep all their

push, introducing the e-truck category alongside

the three traditional ones.

Watch the

awarding session

on YouTube

10

All the winners

The awards

went to Volvo

Trucks for the FH

Aero 460 in the

Tractor category;

the new IVECO

Eurocargo CNG

in the Distribution

category; and the

Renault Trucks

E-Tech Master in

the Van category.

This year, the

jury introduced

a brand-new

category, called

eTruck, devoted to

heavy-duty electricpowered

trucks

coming to the

market. The Volvo

FH Aero Electric

was the first-ever

winner in such

category.

11

FACE-TO-FACE

CALSTART: WHAT HAPPENS IN THE U.S.

LET'S MAKE IT CLEANER

As a national nonprofit

organization, the

major target of CAL-

START is building a high-tech

clean-transportation industry.

Among other key initiatives,

CALSTART publishes reports

with the aim of updating on

the penetration of zero-emission

commercial vehicles in

the U.S. Let’s start our chat

with Jacob Richard from market

trends, then.

What are the key findings

from the very last report

released by Calstart in January

as for truck electrification

in the U.S.?

“We’re seeing that cargo vans

are taking off, driving the zero-emission

vehicle adoption.

It’s mainly because of the

ideal capability of last mile

delivery. Out of June 2024

we see about 35,000 of them

on the road. Multiple OEMs

produce ZE vehicles with high

volumes, at a price range

that’s quite comparable, if not

cheaper, than ICE vans”.

“The main issue with hydrogen is that

we should lower the price at the pump.

Compared to BEVs, we already have

electricity available, while hydrogen is

totally different. We’re really starting

from scratch, and we need to build up

hydrogen production”.

Looking at the U.S. territory,

can we say zero-emission

trucks are going out of California,

which has always

been the leading state?

“Some states like Texas or

Florida are taking off. In my

opinion, it’s always a matter

of viability of this type of

trucks. Businesses all over the

U.S. are looking at features

like TCO, driver retention,

less intensive maintenance,

and so on, regardless of possible

incentives in different

states. We see these vehicles

are very appreciated by drivers.

Of course, we have some

uncertainties right now as

for the regulation level, even

though I do not see that as a

huge barrier. It might slow

down, of course, but I still

think we’re going to see increasing

figures of zero-emission

trucks deployed across

the whole nation in the next

years”.

Jacob Richard

works as

Technical

PM for

CALSTART,

a Californiabased

organization

aimed at

promoting

cleaner

transportation

in the United

States..

All the world is looking at

the new president of the

U.S. and try to read the

future of electric vehicles

in North America. Do you

believe the real intention

of Pres. Trump is to recant

Pres. Biden’s Green Deal?

“Actually, there’s a lot of uncertainty

going on, in terms

of what he can or cannot do.

Something has to do with

funding that has been frozen,

or what is going to happen

with regulations. We are

closely monitoring the evolution

of it”.

Here in Europe, there’s so

much talk about incentives,

and their importance to

boost the electric commercial

vehicle market. What’s

happening in the U.S., in

this regard?

“A barrier on any new technology

is related to higher

prices. Incentives are very

useful to help first adopters

to try new technologies. Once

technology becomes more

common and fleets are more

confident, we’re going to see

more economies of scale, with

prices coming down”.

“The presence of shared charging

depots is going to be critical to scale

all this cost effectively. Not every fleet

needs to charge their vehicles at the

same time, so it’s possible to share

the same assets. This will help both

investors and providers”.

What’s happening in the

U.S. in terms of infrastructure

development?

“Right now, it’s mainly private

infrastructure supporting

clean transportation in

the U.S. So far, such scenario

is fine, with great companies

doing innovative things. The

presence of shared charging

depots is going to be critical

to scale all this cost effectively.

Not every fleet needs to

charge their vehicles at the

same time, so it’s possible to

share the same assets. This

will help investors and infrastructure

providers build

these depots. These structures

are growing along some of the

main freight corridors in the

country”.

How do you see the role of

hydrogen in the mobility

sector? Is it just too hard to

produce and distribute?

“I think the main issue with

hydrogen is that we should

lower the price at the pump.

Compared to BEVs, we already

have electricity available,

while hydrogen is totally

different. We’re really starting

from scratch, and we need to

build up hydrogen production,

which is not easy. We

also need off-takers. Maybe

heavy-duty trucks or niche

applications, for instance in

mining, are the most suitable

possibilities for hydrogen”.

In the last few months, several

companies were forced

to bankruptcy, in the U.S. as

well as in EU. How worrying

is it for the industry of

electric vehicles?

“Of course, it’s very upsetting

to see some companies

go bankrupt. Looking at the

figures, none of these companies

had big numbers on

the market, so this should

not affect the development of

“Looking at the U.S. market, cargo

vans are taking off, driving the zeroemission

vehicle adoption. It’s mainly

because of the ideal capability of

last mile delivery. Out of June 2024

we see about 35,000 of them on the

road”.

electric commercial mobility.

It’s interesting to see how the

already built assets can be

reutilized, now”.

Do you see a bigger space

for traditional companies in

the electrification market?

“Legacy OEMs can step up

more easily that startups,

that’s for sure. One thing

we’re starting to see is that

some new companies are

building chassis, instead of

the body, thus reducing the

costs. Some startups are innovative,

though, and can be important

for the development of

cleaner transportation. Even

though some of these startups

had a negative outcome,

they can be an inspiration for

other players coming to the

market”.

We’re about to attend ACT

Expo 2025. What do you

expect from this year’s edition?

More product showcase

or talks about policy?

“We’ll see. The full conference

program is going to be

very interesting. We’ll have

the possibility to look at significant

niche segments. Looking

at the last editions, I can

say that two years ago there

was huge talk about hydrogen,

while last year one of the

major issues was the already

mentioned shared depots”.

12

13

FACE-TO-FACE

VOLTA TRUCKS’ SECOND LIFE, EXPLAINED

BACK TO THE BASICS

Let’s get familiar with

v1 and v2, respectively

identifying the first and

second life of Volta Trucks

(or Volta Commercial Vehicles,

this is the new name). In

the middle is the bankruptcy,

announced back in October

2023, which seemed to have

put an end to one of the most

interesting EV projects in

commercial transportation.

Some important issues with

the supply chain, as well as

missing trust from former investors

made all this happen.

Since then, ‘a bunch of brave

people’ started to think that

‘it’s not over ‘til it’s over’,

looked for new investors and

set the new Volta Trucks in

Phoenix mode.

What happened to Volta

Trucks after October 2023?

Carla Detrieux. “Simple answer:

a lot! On our side, we

decided to truly focus our efforts

on building trucks, and

delivering on some key pillars.

Starting from the need to

“Now we have both options, so

chassis cab and full vehicle with the

body behind the cab, we call it all-inone

solution. Also, we offer two vehicle

types, the 16-ton and the 18-ton, both

coming with two different wheelbase

as well as battery options”.

re-assemble our supply chain,

which was very fragmented.

In this regard, we are also

working on mitigating risks

and increasing our resilience.

Our first goal was to have a

bunch of 50 vehicles, which

we call the moonshot series.

This fleet was built in Steyr,

which is still our partner.

Another important pillar was

working with all our legacy

customers to re-engage them.

Also, in this v2 we have been

questioning ourselves about

having a more pragmatic

business plan. In v1, we were

thinking we could revolutionize

not only the truck industry,

but also the bodybuilding

sector, imposing one standard

when it comes to the bodies”.

What made you change

your mind, then?

CD. “Fleets need a more

flexible approach. That was

the wrong way to address the

Anthony

Buron,

Area Sales

Manager

France,

and Carla

Detrieux,

Director of

Business

Development,

Volta Trucks.

market. It’s OK to be a disruptor,

but if you don’t bring

value to your customers, then

it’s not enough. That’s why we

shifted to making chassis cabs

in v2. Also, we want to be a

manufacturer now, we’re not

a service company anymore.

We really want to focus on

what we know best. Whereas

before we had this truck-asa-service

approach, which

still makes a lot of sense, it’s

heavy for us to implement as

a startup”.

One of the reasons why Volta

Trucks collapsed was the

trouble in battery supply.

What’s changed in the supply

chain of key components?

CD. “Yes, Proterra’s financial

situation was one of the

reasons that caused our company’s

collapse, as we know.

This made us reflect on some

things that we’re trying to improve

in v2. There was also

our responsibility in wanting

to grow perhaps too fast”.

What about the people

working for Volta Trucks?

CD. “We’re relying on a team

of about 150 people. Most of

us are ‘veterans’, like Anthony

and I. It’s been incredible

to feel the energy coming

from all those people, mostly

coming from v1. I can say it’s

more than a job for us”.

“We decided to truly focus our efforts

on building trucks, and delivering on

some key pillars. Whereas before we

had this truck-as-a-service approach,

which still makes a lot of sense,

it’s heavy for us to implement as a

startup”.

Strictly talking about the

trucks, what’s changed compared

to the first stage of the

Volta Trucks project?

Anthony Buron. “Basically,

the fact that we’re focusing

on the production of chassis

cabs. To be honest, the discussion

about shifting to chassis

cabs was there also in v1,

some of us were pushing for

it. In addition, I can tell you

what our previous customers

here in France kept telling

me: your products are great,

drivers really like the vehicles,

the issue is about you,

guys, and your business model.

So, what we’re doing now

is to build trust again and be

reliable. We needed to find a

new way to make business out

of that”.

Is the chassis cab the only

available version of the Volta

Zero?

AB. “No, we have both options,

so chassis cab and full

vehicle with the body behind

the cab, we call it all-in-one

solution. The only thing is

that we don’t manage it internally,

but rather work with

trusted partners on it. Also,

we have two vehicle types, the

16-ton and the 18-ton truck,

both coming with two different

wheelbase options and

two different battery options.

It’s a simplified scenario compared

to v1.

They have basically the same

platform for the two truck options.

Another different thing is that

we’re not looking only at distribution

as possible applications

of the truck, but rather

towing applications, beverage

customers, and so on. We

“It’s frustrating for me, as I’m

supposed to manage communication.

We know that we need to

communicate more compared to

what we have done so far, and

showcase the Volta Zero as we used

to do in v1. Time will come”.

have pilots available across

Europe now”.

Volta Trucks used to communicate

a lot, while now

there’s no communication

anymore. Why such a big

change?

CD. “It’s frustrating for me,

too, as I’m supposed to manage

communication. Things

may change quite soon. We

know that we need to communicate

more compared to

what we have done so far,

and showcase the Volta Zero

as we used to do in v1. Time

will come”.

What about customers?

How difficult was it to work

with them once again and be

trusted by them?

AB. “Some customers had already

put orders on the table,

which we were forced to cancel.

It’s not easy to come back

to them after the bankruptcy.

Also, we have been able to

approach a lot of other customers

which did not have

orders in v1”.

Which markets are you approaching

in Europe?

CD. “We sell our trucks in

Austria, France, UK, Germany,

and the Nordics. We’ve

had conversations in Italy and

in Belgium. We’re expanding

our markets in Europe”.

14

15

FACE-TO-FACE

FLYNT. WHEN CHINA MEETS EUROPE

THE PERFECT MATCH

According to the official

press release that

introduced the newly

founded electric LCV company,

FLYNT “represents a

unique collaboration between

Europe and China, leveraging

decades of automotive expertise

to deliver cutting-edge,

purpose-built solutions”. At

the heart of the project is

the strategic and exclusive

partnership with Miraco Motors,

a brand belonging to

the GAC Group, among the

major automotive groups in

China. Although it’s still too

early to get some more details

about the e-vans, we thought

it was a good idea to have a

chat with FLYNT founder and

CEO Daniel Kirchert. Starting

from his long-lasting professional

experience in China.

Dr. Kirchert, how was this

experience so inspirational

for you in the FLYNT project?

“First of all, I’ve had a childhood

affinity with China. I

“One of the main reasons why

we don’t see electrification in the

field od LCVs right now is that the

current products out there are mainly

electrified versions, so diesel platforms

converted with high costs and not

good efficiency rate”.

learned the language quite

early, and even my wife is

Chinese. I’ve spent quite a

lot of time supporting BMW’s

setup in China. It was a great

time, experiencing truly fascinating

growth there, with

the local government already

pushing on the development of

electric vehicles. Already before

2010 there was a policy

to make electric mobility a top

priority for the Chinese government.

Now, Chinese carmakers

started to make great

cars. And they do it at much

lower costs compared to European

companies. They have

a shorter production chain for

key components, such as batteries,

and they are truly able

to integrate software into vehicles,

which is a big struggle

for Western OEMs”.

Where does the cooperation

with Miraco Motors come

from?

FLYNT CEO

and founder,

Daniel

Kirchert,

knows China

very well

and speaks

Chinese.

He boasts

valuable

experience

working for

BMW, Nissan,

and Infiniti.

Later, Kirchert

co-founded

the automotive

startup

BYTON.

“The FLYNT products are really

defined for the European

market. We created the company

as a European player

with close connections to the

market, as well as the customers.

Miraco Motors started

to work on that product for

us, according to our specifications.

When we contacted

them about two years ago,

Miraco Motors had what we

were looking for, thinking of

the European market. Space

efficiency, range, cost and

so on were some of the main

strengths of Miraco Motors’

van concepts. Today, we have

a very strong relationship of

trust and mutual understanding

with them”.

Looking at the commercial

e-mobility scenario in Europe,

with the latest data

showing a reduction in

terms of registration, what

makes you so confident

about FLYNT?

“We’re convinced that until

2030 there’s room for electrification

among light commercial

vehicles. The main reason

why we don’t see electrification

right now is that the current

products out there are

electrified versions, so diesel

platforms converted with high

costs and not good efficiency

rate. Over the last year and

a half, we talked with many

“Chinese carmakers started to make

great cars. And they do it at much

lower costs compared to European

companies. They have a shorter

production chain for key components,

and they are truly able to integrate

software into vehicles”.

potential customers, not only

logistics companies, but also

craftsmen. Some of them really

want to go electric, they

just cannot get good products

on the market”.

Why is there so much attention

on e-vans with

brand-new architecture,

or the ‘software-defined’

ones? Which practical advantages

do they imply for

customers?

“Our vehicles will be software-defined

ones, laying

on the experience gained in

China in recent years. They

started early to develop their

competences, so we have

something to rely on also in

LCVs. Vehicle and software

architecture is a very important

part of our strategy.

Talking about software, for

LCVs is mainly about fleet

management programs and

apps, including predictive

maintenance services, charging

apps, and so on. The vehicle

architecture is ready for

it, and our goal is to provide

our partners with very efficient

systems, so to integrate

their fleet management apps

into the vehicle itself”.

How will FLYNT be organized,

in terms of product

development, sales and after-sales

services? Are you

considering the possibility

of opening branches in other

European countries?

“FLYNT will import and distribute

vehicles in major markets

in Europe. All European

markets will have strong distribution

partners on national

level. Right now, we’re talking

with several distributors to

“For us, what makes FLYNT different

is that we’re not directly investing in

vehicle development and production.

Our partner Miraco Motors is doing

that based on our specifications.

We still need to invest, but only in

building the market”.

get the network up and running.

We also want to have a

very good network with good

and exclusive service capabilities.

Finally, as for spare

parts, we’re talking as well

with very important suppliers

all over Europe. Indeed,

European standards in terms

of quality and durability are

very strict, we really want

our vehicles to meet them. We

have a long road ahead of us,

as we’re a startup, but we’ve

got clear mind about that”.

Talking about the current

startup scenario, what are

the main reasons why some

companies failed to reach

even the small production

stage, in Europe and beyond?

“One of the main reasons was

clearly the capital expenditure.

You need a lot of money

to develop new vehicles,

build factories and become

profitable. For us, what makes

FLYNT different is that we’re

not directly investing in vehicle

development and production.

Miraco Motors is doing

that based on our specifications,

as I said. We still need

to invest, but only in building

the market. Finally, we want

to build our structure gradually,

starting from Germany,

the Nordic countries, and then

expand all over Europe”.

16

17

COVER STORY

NEWCOMERS: IN & OUT

SAILING THROUGH

STORMY

SEAS

18

We would not have wanted to write

this article. We have always been

convinced that the energy transition

must also come through the fresh air that startups,

especially in hi-tech, have shown they can

bring. And it was precisely the transition that

had led many to think that the barriers closing

the truck and van market, and production,

might fall or, at the very least, be reduced.

Moreover, perhaps some even believed that

the start-up itself could be bought by the

same large industrial groups that dominate the

truck&van market. Well, this was not the case.

Going beyond the 'power point' stage

In fact, there are several manufacturers who

have not been able to get past the ‘power point’

stage (presentations, strategies, announces) or

the prototype stage. It was too hard to set up a

For many startups founded in recent year, innovative ideas and

interesting technologies are often not enough to enter the

truck&van market. Here is an updated review, including

disappointments, surprises, and cases of resilience. Looking ahead

to a future that is all to be written.

supply chain from scratch, equip production facilities

and set up the sales and service network

on an international scale. After all, albeit with

a simplified powertrain at a components level,

electric or hydrogen-powered commercial vehicles

(the Chinese use the all-encompassing

‘new energy’ formula) must be built, marketed

and serviced just like those with internal combustion

engines. And traditional manufacturers,

in this respect, enjoy a key and inescapable advantage.

Updating the list of successful newcomers

Last year, we published a review of manufacturers

(who were almost all ‘newcomers’)

grappling with their first difficulties. Already,

19

COVER STORY

THOSE WHO SAIL WITH THE WIND

CANOO

The picture of zero-emission mobility is constantly

changing. While most of the examples we have cited in the

text highlight the difficulties of transition, others have the

green color of hope.

Volta Trucks, as mentioned, is slowly rising from its ashes

like a phoenix, while earlier this year the first electric vans

with Flexis’ native electric architecture were unveiled.

The U.S.-based Rivian has freed itself from the exclusivity

clause signed with Amazon and has been marketing its

electric vans in North America in the open market for a few

weeks now.

Then, there is the long Chinese chapter: the Windrose

electric truck (pictured) rivals Tesla’s Semi by promising

record-breaking range and attracting the attention of

potential customers around the world (literally: from

Europe to North America to New Zealand).

The venture of Flynt comes from the experience of China’s

Miraco Motors. It has been active since late 2024 in the

Netherlands with the goal of launching native electric vans

on the market next year.

And while BYD already has a proven structure in Europe for

cars and buses, Farizon Auto is the Geely Group’s brand

dedicated to light commercial transport.

The SV electric van physically arrived in the UK a few weeks

ago, with first deliveries expected in the second quarter of

this year.

ARRIVAL

The situation in zero-emission freight transports

is in constant evolution. Some manufacturers

are starting their activities, or approaching new

markets. Windrose (above) is taking its electric

truck all over the world, working with some key

customers and testing the electric truck.

these did not include Arrival, a British company

that in the immediate post-Covid era had

sought to revolutionize the last mile, envisioning

not only designing electric vans built with

innovative and more sustainable materials,

but assembling them in micro-factories spread

across Europe, almost on-demand, with highly

QUANTRON

automated systems. That project was shortlived,

perhaps because of the lack of trust

from investors, who had soon cut their fundings.

A few months after Arrival’s adventure

ended, another van manufacturer, this time an

American one, Canoo, had snapped up the late

competitor’s production assets at 20 percent of

their actual value, as stated by Canoo itself. We

are talking about robots, assembly and painting

systems, as well as material testing and inspection

equipment.

It was March 2024, and certainly one could

not have imagined that less than a year later

the American company would close down: the

interest shown by giants such as Walmart, Us

Postal, and even Nasa was not enough. Perhaps,

this was due in part to the extravagances

of its rumored founder Tony Aquila, who was

also accused of using Canoo funds as reimbursement

for his private jet travel.

Nikola: going beyond the Milton's case

Dark stories of managers who are not always

irreprehensible, just like Nikola’s first CEO,

Trevor Milton, who was sentenced in late

2023 to four years in prison for fraud (he lied

about the technological development of his

trucks; meanwhile, President Trump granted

him pardon). And while Nikola has managed

to survive its founder’s troubles and even the

breakup of its alliance with IVECO in 2023, it

has certainly not found stability. The Phoenix,

Arizona-based manufacturer had to cope with

the recall of electric trucks put on the market to

solve their technical problems and, over time,

has focused mainly on the hydrogen fuel cell

variant, while also trying to create an ecosystem

including, for example, refueling stations

through the Hyla brand. Although Nikola sold

200 hydrogen-powered trucks in the first nine

months of 2024, it did not cover its costs, given

that, just in February 2025, it filed for bankruptcy.

When the back is not covered enough

The overt crisis of hydrogen, which is not at

all competitive at the moment and lacks the

necessary refueling infrastructure, has claimed

other victims. Germany’s Quantron appeared

more solid than other companies because of

its parent group, Haller, which has been active

in the automotive industry for more than

100 years. Founded as a specialist in light- and

heavy-duty vehicle retrofits, Quantron immediately

created a well-equipped design department,

whose first result was the heavy-duty

QHM Aero based on the MAN TGX - hydrogen-powered,

of course. But overconfidence in

the hydrogen market and some unclear corporate

affairs quickly exacerbated the situation,

and the company was declared insolvent last

fall. So much for ambitious development plans,

which included several European and non-European

nations.

Hydrogen, then, has also scalded the ‘big boys’

like Renault. The French manufacturer promot-

20

21

COVER STORY

Arrival was

forced to declare

bankruptcy at the

beginning of 2024

Due to the high

complexity of the

hydrogen market,

Ballard needed to cut

workforce in 2024

The company was

forced to declare

bankruptcy in

January 2025

A press release

issued on

February 18, 2025,

announced the end

of the startup

New investors

are needed. The

company has no

longer any liquidity

to keep its activity

HYVIA

ed the Hyvia joint venture with Plug power

earlier this decade. The goal was to bring its

fuel cell-powered vans to market. Again, ambitious

plans and prototypes were presented at

every trade show, until the final stone was laid

to the project in the words of CEO Luca de

Meo, who surrendered to the fact that “currently,

we do not see a market for hydrogen”. The

difficulties of this carrier, which still represents

the hope for decarbonizing heavy transport in

the medium to long term, have also cascaded

down to the manufacturers of key components,

BALLARD

TEVVA

such as fuel cells.

Among the world’s best-known specialists, the

Canadian Ballard (investor in the Quantron

project) is resizing its development plans, reducing

its workforce and focusing more on

other sectors, such as rail, rather than road

transport.

From vehicles to fuel cell production

One who seems destined for failure is Hyzon,

a company specializing in retrofitting trucks

to hydrogen. Founded in the U.S. but present

TESLA

The company failed

in February, this

year. The assets

will be sold

Nearly 40 people

work for Quantron.

Recently, founder

Andreas Haller got

the company out of

insolvency

also in Europe, specifically in the Netherlands,

Hyzon, after initial difficulties, announced in

the summer of 2024 that it wanted to focus on

North America and fuel cell production. But

the resignation of the company’s CEO, Parker

Meeks, sounds like the end: it seems liquidity

is not to bring Hyzon too far away.

Since last fall, anyone who googles the contact

details of Tevva, a British manufacturer of

medium-electric trucks with an eye on Europe,

HYZON

The company

managed by Elon

Musk is extremely

popular. The Semi

project, however, is

slowing down

The British

manufacturer is no

longer active since,

at least, September

2024

finds the words ‘closed permanently’. Founder

Asher Bennett had told us about the project:

to build electric trucks, at first for urban and

regional distribution, equipping them with hydrogen-powered

‘range extenders’. It went no

further than building a few prototypes and testing

them - at the time described as successfully

- with a limited number of potential customers

in the UK.

One who has their backs well covered, on

the other hand, is Tesla, which is doing great

thanks to the enormous power enjoyed by

founder Elon Musk, but has to contend, however,

with Donald Trump, who is not exactly

fond of electric mobility.

Bankrupted in

2023, the project

is having a second

life thanks to a

group of resilient

managers

Black, grey, white.

We wanted to

express with

colours the state

of health of

the companies

mentioned in this

article. White

are the active

(and healthy)

companies, grey

are those at risk,

black are the ones

that no longer

exist or declared

bankruptcy.

Tesla's challenging truck project

We know how Tesla centers information about

its projects, but the silence surrounding the fate

of the Semi electric truck, which was first seen

in Europe at IAA 2024, is not comforting. In

short, newcomers do not have it easy. The task

of approaching the market is certainly difficult,

but not impossible.

An example of this is the Volta Trucks case.

First the resounding bankruptcy in October

2023 due mainly to supply chain issues and

investor will.

After that, however, a hard core within Volta

did not give up and gave birth to the ‘phoenix’

project that we tell you about in the dedicated

interview at page 14.

22

23

INSIGHT

BORGWARNER’S GIGAFACTORY

BATTERY

CENTERED

At full speed.

With the addition

of a brandnew

and almost

fully automated

assembly line,

BorgWarner

managed

to increase

productivity and

reach an amount of

3.5 GWh per year,

in Darmstadt alone.

Where there was nothing before Covid,

there is now one of the best-equipped

gigafactories in Europe. The largest

one excluding those belonging to OEMs. The

acquisition, which was finalized in 2022, gave

BorgWarner access to the battery production

plants of former Akasol that now works on

three shifts, five days a week using state-ofthe-art,

highly automated production lines.

In Darmstadt, not far from Frankfurt, production,

testing area, offices and R&D occupy

about 15,000 square meters, plus 4,000 square

meters at the nearby Langen site. A total

of more than 850 people are engaged in the

design and manufacture of battery modules

and packs, as well as BMS (Battery management

systems) and Removable Contactor Box.

In a nutshell, as of 2022 in Germany alone,

BorgWarner’s battery systems division has

produced about 5 GWh of battery packs for

commercial and industrial vehicles using NMC

(Nickel-manganese-cobalt) technology. This is

set to increase significantly when the site’s maximum

capacity of 3.5 GWh is reached, thanks

in part to the finalization of a second highly

automated production line. BorgWarner engineers

showed us how the assembly lines work.

It begins with the insertion of cylindrical cells

inside the modules: the third-generation battery

packs currently produced by BorgWarner admit

two layers of 300 cells, for a total of 600 cells

per module.

Robots are paramount in the factory

The processes of gluing (including preparing

the cell surface) and adding the electronic connections

- which are both entrusted to robots

– is the most complex part. It takes more than

one hours to manufacture a single module,

which weighs about 50 kilograms, with an interval

of a few minutes between the production

of one module and the next.

The production process of the battery packs,

then the insertion of modules, is relatively

simpler and is also entrusted to industrial robots

for reliability and weight management

issues. There are very few manual tasks overall,

mainly feeding and operating the machi-

BorgWarner welcomed us to its Gigafactory in Darmstadt, Germany.

The plant can produce about 35,000 NMC battery packs in a year

using innovative, highly automated lines. Investments in LFP batteries

are planned to expand the company’s portfolio, and meet the

requirements in the industrial vehicle field.

24

25

INSIGHT

Lines and testing.

Some pictures

from our trip to

Darmstadt, where

BorgWarner has

got offices, show

room, production

facility, R&D and

testing in 15,000

square meters

overall.

nes. Every around 20 minutes, the line makes

a 9-module battery pack. Also, interesting

and state-of-the-art is the testing area, next to

production: slightly over 2,000 square meters

where various types of tests (corrosion, immersion

in water to monitor tightness, temperature,

performance, vibration resistance, charge

retention) are carried out on the battery packs,

but also on the cells. These, although sourced

from outside suppliers, are subjected to rigorous

testing in controlled environments.

The third generation of UHE BorgWarner battery

packs, i.e. those currently rolling off the

Darmstadt lines, guarantee a capacity of 98

kWh with a nominal voltage of 665 V, continuous

charging power of up to 80 kW, and a

weight of just under 600 kg.

Trucks, buses, off-road vehicles and marine

A very important factor for the commercial

and industrial vehicle sector is ensuring optimum

operation over 4,000 charging cycles,

a number that is far superior to car batteries.

The company’s portfolio also includes a compact

version with 5 or 6 modules instead of

the standard 9. Trucks, buses, off-road vehicles

(excavators, snow groomers, aerial platforms)

and marine applications are the ones of choice

for BorgWarner batteries, with the addition of

projects in the field of eTrailers. So far, the bus

sector has been very relevant: according to the

American group, one in 5 e-buses in Europe

and the U.S. mounts BorgWarner batteries.

LFP as a promising technology for batteries

What about trucks? BorgWarner aims to be ready

when the numbers increase. And they are

investing in new products, starting with LFP

(Lithium-iron-phosphate) technology for cells:

they will not replace the NMC ones produced

today, but will be complementary, and the

choice will be made based on the application.

BorgWarner plans to diversify its offerings in

terms of battery pack shape and size, with the

obvious goal of meeting the construction needs

of OEMs, especially buses and trucks (so far,

LCVs are not a target for BorgWarner). Looking,

precisely, at the development of LFP batteries,

the portfolio will consist of flat, high,

compact or cubic products.

Also, BorgWarner’s basic strategy will not

change, at least for the next few years. The

battery maker will continue to turn to trusted

cell suppliers. Clearly, the FinDreams Battery

partnership signed last year for the exclusive

supply (outside China) of the innovative ‘blade

cells’ goes in this direction. Thanks to an innovative

and particularly compact design, these

cells will provide manufacturers with higher

flexibility.

26

27

PREVIEW

FLEXIS: THE BRAND-NEW E-VANS

PARIS

CALLING

It is no mystery that several manufacturers

are planning to develop, in the coming

years, models based on a new and often

native electric architecture. This should allow

van users to count on vehicles with maximized

efficiency compared to those currently on the

road. Mercedes, just to name one, is developing

its VAN.EA platform; Kia presented its

new PBV concepts at the Iaa; Renault, on the

other hand, has decided to knock on Volvo’s

(and French logistics giant CMA-CGM’s) door

to all work together on the vans of tomorrow,

sharing investment and, hopefully, future glory.

Three van models to approach the market

In Paris, we first saw the native electric platform

(or ‘skateboard’), from which Flexis (this

is the official name of the joint venture unveiled

in April 2024) has derived three types

of van that it intends to produce starting in

2026: a panel van belonging to the medium

segment, which is also available as a cargo

van equipped with a presumably isothermal

van, and the innovative North American-made

In Paris, we attended the official launch of the first electric

vans developed by Flexis, the joint venture shared by Renault,

Volvo and CMA-CGM. One native electric platform and three

e-van models designed to revolutionise last mile delivery all

over Europe, mainly relying on software and services.

28

29

PREVIEW

THE E-VANS IN THE NEST OF THE TRAFIC

Last year, Renault’s Sandouville manufacturing site, just

outside the port city of Le Havre in Normandy, celebrated

its first 60 years. Since 1964, the plant has been central to

Renault, first for the manufacturing of many car models and

then, since 2014, for the assembly of the third generation of

the Trafic, the medium van also marketed by Renault Trucks

in its Red Edition version. Back in 2023, Renault celebrated

the first million Trafics produced, but also the launch of the

full-electric E-Tech van. Now, the story continues in the name

of electrification, with the goal of hosting the production of

Flexis electric vans, which should be assembled on the same

lines as the Trafic, also in the ICE version.

stepvan on which others (Arrival, for example)

had bet and would truly be a first for the European

market.

The latter is a 2.6-meter high vehicle with a

low floor and access via a sliding door on the

right side. The cab is connected to the cargo

area by an additional door. The seat, cockpit,

central display, and steering wheel are clearly

Renault-derived, while the big innovation is

the so-called ‘delivery button’ (which is customizable,

although it is not yet clear how) that

drivers can activate when they need to make

a delivery. The ‘magic’ button opens the door

leading to the loading area and unlocks the

one exiting the vehicle from the curb side. Simultaneously,

it activates a sensor that detects

any movement on the sidewalk itself to avoid

collisions.

Trusting the transition in the van sector

“We have little doubt that the transition will

materialize by 2030, and even more so looking

ahead to 2035. It is the logistics companies

that are asking us to do this,” said Flexis

CEO Philippe Divry. Not surprisingly, Flexis

announced that 10 letters of intent covering

1,500 vehicles altogether have been signed so

far. Among the names mentioned were the ever-present

DB Schenker, France’s Colis Privé,

and London-based startup Hived. Mind you,

the letters of intent are not orders, but rather

expressions of interest that are nonetheless

significant.

Volvo and Renault have each invested 300 million

euros in the Flexis project, while CMA-

CGM has added 120 million euros. To date,

about 100 people are engaged in the devel-

opment of electric vehicles, but CEO Divry’s

goal is to double the number of employees by

the end of this year. Speaking of goals, as mentioned,

efforts will be made to reach production

by mid-2026: Flexis will make its electric vans

in Sandouville, Normandy, on the same lines

that Renault uses today to assemble its vans,

including ICE ones.

Fast charging and reliable structure

“Being able to rely on an existing, proven production

facility is a big advantage for us,” added

COO Krishnan Sundararajan, who outlined

the main technical features of the native electric

platform. “A 100-volt electrical system, the

ability to recharge the batteries to 80 percent in

less than 20 minutes, as well as the ability to

install battery packs with different chemistry,

LFP or NMC, in a single housing.” As well

as, we add, a reduced turning radius of 10.3

meters, “equal to that of a B-segment car”.

Flexis managers did not go into details about

the vehicles’ range, which is expected to reach

600 kilometers in the urban cycle. We will

know more in the coming months, when the

first tests will be carried out with the support

of the first potential customers.

In the meantime, Renault announced the names

of its own-branded e-vans: Golette, Estafette,

and Trafic.

Vans and people

Some pics from

the official launch

event held by

Flexis in Paris.

Above, Flexis' top

management: from

the left, Pierre

Sirolli, Head of

Services and

Solutions, CEO

Philippe Divry, and

COO Krishnan

Sundararajan.

30

31

PREVIEW

MILENCE

POSTCARDS FROM

ITALY

The network of Milence-branded charging hubs is growing rapidly,

as the joint venture is approaching the (not easy) goal of 1,700

electric truck charging points along major European routes.

We witnessed the inauguration of the very first Italian charging hub,

equipped with four Alpitronic 400kW fast chargers.

There has been much talk about charging

infrastructure in recent months in Europe.

Among the pivots of the new Action Plan

envisioned by the EU Commission, high-speed

charging stations along major European transport

routes are key to boosting the spread of

heavy electric mobility in the old continent.

Last February, we were able to witness the inauguration

of the first Milence charging hub

in Italy, the 13 th opened by the joint venture

shared by Volvo, Traton and Daimler.

The hub is located near Mantua, in Northern

Italy, along the A22 highway and the Scandinavian-Mediterranean

TEN-T corridor.

“In our vision, private and public charging systems

must coexist for freight transport to be

electrified,” said Simone Procaccini, Milence’s

representative in Italy.

Europe’s hungry for fast chargers

”By 2030, Europe will need 11,000 truck

charging stations.” It is clear that relying only

on depot stations cannot be enough to envision

electric trucks on our roads (and highways).

This was confirmed by Ettore Gualandi from

Gruber Logistics, a company that is very active

in the transition and owns an electric truck:

“Milence’s is a key project to electrify our

fleets: we are convinced that transport in the

future will be electric, but so far we have felt

the lack of viable charging options, so much so

that we have invested more on electric vehicles

in Germany than in Italy.”

The main Italian cities are not far away

“We are close to the A22, which is absolutely

central to European routes,” said Alexandre

Hélibert, public affairs manager at Milence.

”Logistically, moreover, we are in a favorable

position in relation to some of Italy’s largest

cities, such as Milan, Rome and Naples. Italy

is one of the main countries in Milence’s

strategy.”

Bagnolo San Vito is home to five fast-charging

stalls with four Alpitronic stations of 400

kW maximum output each, to be divided by

the two outlets associated with each charger.

The outlets currently present are CCS, with the

promise of also installing megawatt systems

(with outputs up to a thousand kilowatts) when

technology allows it. Charging can be done,

as per Milence’s policy, not only on trucks belonging

to the joint venture, but on any electric

truck (and, why not, even long-distance buses,

someday).

A truly competitive price per kWh

According to Milence, several payment cards

are accepted to ‘fill up the tank’ in Bagnolo

San Vito, in addition to direct payment by bank

card. But what is really interesting, given current

prices, is the standard cost of 0.399 euros

per kWh: a decidedly competitive price. The

construction of toilets, showers and the installation

of a vending machine is planned by the

end of the year.

Services such as restaurants are not foreseen in

Bagnolo (“it’s not our job, they said). However,

next to the station a McDonald’s fast food

is located. Enough, for now.

Clear target

Right after the

inauguraion of the

first hub in Italy,

Milence opened a

truck charging hub

in the UK, precisely

in Immingham.

The joint venture

has the target to

make at least 1,700

fast charging points

available in Europe

by 2027.

32

33

TRENDS

IN THE USA

BACK TO

SQUARE ONE

14,000

12,000

10,000

8,000

6,000

4,000

2,000

0

ZE truck deployments in the U.S.

2,891

July - Dec

2022

13,082 12,851

12,296

Jan - June

2023

July - Dec

2023

Jan - June

2024

Yard Tractor Refuse Truck HD Truck

MDTruck MD Step Van Cargo Van

Overall ZE truck deployments per segment

Cargo Van

MD Step Van

MD Truck

HD Truck

Refuse

Yard Tractor

1,158

623

1,696

77

1,496

37,831

0 5,000 10,000 15,000 20,000 25,000 30,000 35,000 40,000

Also in this case, we need to start with a

small methodological premise. The latest

data made available by Calstart, the

California-based organization that handles this

type of survey for the U.S., refer to the first

half of 2024. The next survey will be published

no earlier than May, so after the end of ACT

Expo. In absolute terms, according to Calstart,

nearly 43,000 zero-emission industrial vehicles,

from cargo vans to heavy-duty trucks,

produced by 37 manufacturers in total, have

been registered in the United States until June

2024. Of these, just 67 are hydrogen-powered

Zero-emission truck and van registrations in the U.S. keep quite

steady also in 2024, with no sign of sudden growth. The intentions

showed by the new presidency are unlikely to give confidence to

those who support fleet electrification. The lack of suitable

infrastructure is another worrying aspect. Waiting for things to change.

fuel cells. The figure shows, yes, a progression

from 2023, with about 11,900 additional vehicles

registered in the first part of last year, but

we are still a long way from the targets set by

national programs (moreover, seriously jeopardized

by the intentions of the new U.S. presidency,

as clearly stated by president Trump,

willing to turn the framework imagined by Joe

Biden upside down).

Still waiting for the figures to rise

The latter figure is broadly in line with the

six-month figure for registrations registered in

2023. A sign that, so far, the boom is far from

coming. On the contrary, Calstart forecasts

speak of a small downsizing in 2024 compared

to the previous year. And the failures of

some of the new manufacturers committed to

the United States (Nikola’s case being the most

striking) seem to confirm the trend.

Most of the ZE vehicles are cargo vans

Perhaps the figure that stands out the most is

the composition of the panel of zero-emission

commercial and industrial vehicles registered

so far in the United States. Overwhelmingly,

in fact, as shown in the chart above, these are

cargo vans, with 37,831 vehicles out of the total

42,881. Only in the first half of 2024, cargo

vans were about 88% of the overall zero-emission

vehicle registrations.

The medium-duty category is divided in a market

as particular as the United States into step

van and medium truck, which together total

1,781 registrations. The heavy-duty long-haul

truck figure is second in absolute terms, with

1,696 registrations.

For the rest, these are tractors for port use and

refuse collection vehicles, the latter registered

in particularly small numbers when considering

how much their use lends itself to electrification.

California as the Golden State of clean trucks

Looking, finally, at the U.S. territory, California,

Texas and Florida are the leading states in

terms of registrations, although Calstart points

out that, if cargo vans are not considered, registrations

outside the Golden State are really

poor.

According to Calstart, then, “while the report

signals progress in furthering ZE trucks adoption,

the data makes it clear that the freight

industry is not on track to meet federal climate

targets for 2030 and beyond, however,

the growth in ZE truck deployments highlights

the industry’s ability to innovate and adapt”.

Do it again.

From the beginning

of 2023, up to

half 2024, ZE

truck registrations

are on the same

level, more or

less. The forecasts

for the end of

2024 are even

less optimistic,

according to

Calstart. Also,

so far in the

U.S., most of the

zero-emission

registrations

are referred to

cargo vans, so

light commercial

vehicles.

34

35

TRENDS

EU+EFTA+UK 2024 MARKET

BUSINESS

AS

USUAL

36

A

small methodological note before delving

into the abyss of the official data provided

by ACEA, which monitors market

trends on a quarterly basis: in our analysis, we

have chosen to consider not only the countries

that are members of the European Union, but

also the so-called EFTA area (Switzerland,

Norway and Iceland) and the United Kingdom.

Therefore, all the data in the following pages

refer to this geographical area, which, in our

opinion, best represents the trends taking place

in the old continent.

Decrease in overall truck registrations

At the macro level, first of all, truck registrations,

i.e., vehicles with a total ground mass of

more than 3.5 tons, set the pace in 2024, with

a 5.5 percent decrease from the previous year.

This value is dictated mainly by the segment

Data related to 2024 in Europe show that light commercial

vehicles travel at a fast pace, while trucks are slowing down.

Electric vehicles, on the other hand, stop at 2.7 percent among

trucks and do not go beyond 6.5 percent among vans. Here’s

our analysis based on the data provided by ACEA.

above 16 tons, which dropped by more than

8year-on-year. In contrast, the medium segment

ended the year on a positive note, with

an increase of 7.2 percent and just over 75,000

registrations.

Looking at the powertrains of trucks registered

in the EU+EFTA+UK area, diesel is confirmed

as the largely main choice, absorbing 94.7

percent of total registrations. Electric options

(which for ACEA also include plug-in hybrid

vehicles) count for 2.7 percent of the total,

while the remaining 2.5 percent is shared by

all other options, including natural gas-powered

vehicles.

In absolute terms, electric vehicles are the only

ones to end the year on a positive note, albeit

37

TRENDS

Up to 3.5 tons.

Nearly all

the countries

lose shares

of electrically

chargeable vehicles

in this segment.

France and the UK

are by far the main

areas in Europe,

with Germany

losing almost 28

percento compared

to 2023.

NEW ELECTRIC VANS (2024)

BELOW 3.5 TONS BY COUNTRY (TOP 10)

2024 2023 Trend %

registrations registrations 2024/2023

France 27.059 27.789 -2,6

United Kingdom 23.317 22.269 4,7

Germany 14.999 20.798 -27,9

Sweden 8.698 8.667 0,4

Norway 8.244 9.002 -8,4

Spain 7.184 9.965 -27,9

Denmark 4.941 3.266 51,3

Italy 4.299 7.275 -40,9

Austria 2.909 3.265 -10,9

Belgium 2.644 3.070 -13,9

Others 26.229 35.874 -36,7

Overall 130.523 141.340 -7,7

Data: EU+EFTA+UK. Source: ACEA

NEW ELECTRIC HEAVY TRUCKS (2024)

OVER 16 TONS BY COUNTRY (TOP 10)

2024 2023 Trend %


Germany 1.035 606 70,8

France 671 551 21,8

Netherlands 478 382 25,1

Norway 371 195 90,3

Sweden 344 289 19

Switzerland 306 190 61,1

United Kingdom 278 288 -3,5

Denmark 235 212 10,8

Austria 167 59 183,1

Spain 136 178 -23,6

Others 270 312 -15,5

Overall 4.291 3.262 31,5


Heavy-duty.

Germany is the

only country

in which over

1,000 electrically

chargeable trucks

were sold. The

Netherlands,

Norway, Sweden,

and Switzerland

manage to

overcome

significantly bigger

nations, such as

the UK, Spain, and

Italy.

Medium-duty.

Germany leads

the chart among

medium-duty

trucks, with

significant growth

over 2023, just like

the UK. France

used to lead the

chart, but last year

was not good at all,

and now it’s third.

with a laughable 2.1 percent over 2023, thus

just above 10,000 units.

On the other hand, the light commercial vehicle

segment marked a positive result, as it

ended the year exceeding two million registered

vehicles (2,002,023), up 6.9 percent yearon-year.

When it comes to powertrains, diesel

remains clearly the preferred option, taking up

85 percent of total registrations. Electric and

plug-in hybrid vehicles stop at 6.5 percent, gasoline

options slightly exceed 5 percent of the

market, while 2 percent of customers choose

other hybrid options.

2024 registrations by country

ACEA also provides a breakdown of registrations

by individual country. Thus, we see

that, again among commercial vehicles up to

3.5 tons, almost all the major countries show a

positive trend, with the only exceptions being

Belgium and Sweden among the lot’s top 10.

The minus sign reigns, however, if we narrow

NEW ELECTRIC TRUCKS (2024)

BETWEEN 3.5 AND 16 TONS BY COUNTRY (TOP 10)

2024 2023 Trend %


Germany 2.378 1.563 52,1

United Kingdom 1.645 1.222 34,6

France 642 2.534 -74,7

Norway 327 510 -35,9

Switzerland 270 197 37,1

Spain 242 163 48,5

Denmark 212 104 103,8

Italy 189 69 173,9

Netherlands 184 766 -76

Sweden 122 3 3966

Others 222 109 50,9

Overall 6.433 7.240 -11,1


the field to electric vehicles: virtually all major

countries suffer, with the commendable exception

of Denmark, which is up more than 50

percent year-on-year.

Electric trucks decrease in the medium segment

Moving up slightly in terms of vehicle tonnage,

ACEA reports figures for the light and medium

truck segment (3.5 to 16 tons). A segment

that, at the European level, gains more than 7

percent over 2023, with just over 75,000 total

NEW COMMERCIAL

VEHICLES (2024 VS 2023)

BY POWER SOURCE

Vans Trucks

Diesel % 85 94,7

Electrically chargeable

vehicles % 6,5 2,7

Petrol % 5,2 0

Hybrid electric

vehicles % 2 0

Others % 1,2 2,5

Overall % 100 100

Data: EU+EFTA+UK.

Source: ACEA

registrations. Germany leads the way, as it registers

practically twice as many vehicles as the

United Kingdom. More distant is France, ahead

of Spain, Italy and Poland. Again, we wanted

to isolate registrations of electric trucks, which

decreased by 11 percent over 2023 with about

6,400 registered vehicles. Germany, the United

Kingdom and France are on the podium,

with the latter, however, declining dramatically

(nearly 75 percent fewer registrations) from the

previous year. Norway also suffers, somewhat

surprisingly, while Italy, in the eighth position,

doubles its registrations of electric vehicles.

So much potential for e-trucks over 16 tons

It is true, electric truck registrations over 16

tons out of the total are still a fairly laughable

proportion, although they are still increasing

by more than 31 percent over 2023. In the

top five of this special ranking are Germany,

France, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden,

confirming that the electrification of heavy

transport, at this time, is essentially a Northern

European issue.

These are all markets that show growing trends

in 2024, on a par with Switzerland, Denmark

and Austria, albeit with somewhat reduced

numbers. A small decline in absolute terms

is seen in the United Kingdom, as well as in

Spain, which is decreasing by more than 23

percent.

38

39

SMART TEST

NISSAN INTERSTAR-E

THE ELECTRIC

SUNRISE

Nissan is adding a new electric van to

its LCV range following the introduction

of the Townstar electric van and

looking forward, by 2027, to completing the

zero-emission range with the mid-size model.

“Electrification is a growing need in light

commercial transport in Europe and we want to

play our part,” said Christophe de Beaumont,

head of LCV and corporate at Nissan Europe,

whom we met in Barcelona at the launch event

for the new Japanese large van. “We see that

customers are very interested in the price and

TCO of vehicles, but also in their capability

and sustainability.”

Optimizing the van's aerodynamic impact

Andrew Limbert, PM & Marketing Manager

for Nissan commercial vehicles in Europe,

explained that the design team in Paddington,

UK, focused mainly on aerodynamic impact,

regarding both the front and side of the vehicle.

The grille was also revamped. It gives

an innovative and more aggressive impact to

Nissan’s large van gets a makeover, and it is available for the

very first time in its zero emission version. The Interstar’s

strength rests on a more modern design, optimized aerodynamic

efficiency, and longer range. We drove it in Spain, and

experienced the new features of the Japanese electric vehicle.

40

41

SMART TEST

COME TOGETHER. OR NOT?

It was supposed to be the new global

automotive giant, an all-Japanese group

(initially, it included also Mitsubishi)

that could be the third largest in the

world after Toyota and Volkswagen.

Instead, it looks like nothing will come

of it: the paths of Nissan and Honda will

continue to run parallel, barring unlikely

but not impossible twists and turns. In

December 2024, the two manufacturers

announced the signing of an MoU

preliminary to the merger: the process

first suffered a setback and then a real

stop between January and February,

with the announcement of the end of

negotiations. It seems that the reason

for the dispute was Honda’s imagined

set-up. Honda, much larger in terms of

numbers than Nissan, would ultimately

acquire the compatriots rather than

carry out a merger. Not exactly what

had been established at first. However,

the recent resignation of CEO Makoto

Uchida (pictured) and the appointment

of Ivan Espinosa, formerly Chief Planning

Officer, may once again bring back the

all-Japanese merger option.

Change on top

Former Nissan CEO, Makoto Uchida

(above) is no longer at the helm. Since

April, Ivan Espinosa replaced him.

According to media reports, he might

restore negotiations with Honda.

the Interstar, as well as a certain resemblance

to its ‘cousin’ Renault Master, which was also

updated later this year. Then, when it comes

to efficiency, Nissan has reduced the vehicle’s

aerodynamic drag (CX) by 20 percent compared

to the previous generation, which benefits

fuel consumption and range. In this regard,

there was great curiosity in Barcelona about

the electric Interstar-e.

The Japanese manufacturer offers the dual

version: with battery packs of 40 or 87 kWh

capacity and promised range of 200 and 460

km, respectively.

Willing to keep load capacity unchanged

We were told that the battery technology is

derived from passenger cars, with the aim of

reducing the weight of the packs as much as

possible, so as not to compromise load capacity.

Both versions allow DC (up to 130 kW of

Highlights

Model type Nissan Interstar-E L3

Gross Vehicle Weight

3.5 ton

Wheelbase (1 st to 2 nd axle) 4,215 mm

Est. range

up to 460 km

Battery type

lithium-ion

Battery capacity

87 kWh (gross)

Charging power

up to 375 kW

Max. charging power

130 kW DC - 22 kW AC

Cargo volume 14.8 m 3

Payload

up to 1,349 kg

power for the 87 kWh configuration) and AC

charging (up to 11 kW for the ‘light’ configuration;

up to 22 kW for the other). On the

other hand, four diesel engines are available on

the new Interstar, with power from 105 to 170

horsepower and torque from 330 to 380 Nm.

In addition to focusing on versatility, thus making

available a variety of possible alternative

set-ups to the classic van, Nissan insists on the

capacity of its new Interstar.

The cargo area ranges from 10.8 cubic meters

of the L2H2 configuration, the one we saw in

Spain, to 14.8 cubic meters of the extra-large

L3H3.

The payload of the ‘classic’ 3.5-ton van is

1,447 kilos for the diesel version, while it is

reduced, but only slightly, to 1,349 kilos on the

Interstar-e. Up to 1,704 kilos can be loaded on

the diesel cab chassis.

Modern and ergonomic dashboard

The dashboard was modernized and made

more ergonomic, with an interesting and essential

digital display for the electric version.

Interstar meets the safety requirements of the

GSR II, with the addition of a rear camera to

facilitate when maneuvering. Nissan has also

worked on the braking system to reduce stopping

distance.

Guaranteed for 5 years or 160,000 km (8-year

battery warranty for the electric version of Nissan’s

big one), the Interstar can also be ordered

throughout Europe as a full electric version.

Brilliant outcome

The new Nissan

electric large

sized van proved

itself brilliant on

the roads in the

area of Barcelona,

Spain. We could

feel the powerful

and smooth electric

motor. The route

was not long

enough to test

the vehicle range,

though.

42

43

SMART TEST

FORD BEV AND PHEV RANGE

UN

FOUR

GETTABLE

Poker face(s).

From the left, Ford

E-Transit Courier,

Ford E-Transit,

Ford E-Transit

Custom, and Ford

Transit Connect

PHEV models.

With its seventy (and more) years of

success in all latitudes, the Transit

belongs to the Olympus of the greats.

Among large electric vans, it is precisely the

Transit that boasts European market leadership

(46.7 percent among two-ton vans in 2024).

The most recent confirmation comes from the

E-Transit itself, i.e., the full electric version of

Ford Pro’s large van. Indeed, adopting the optional

89 kWh battery brings the driving range

up to the 402-kilometer mark.

E-Transit: increased charging power

More into details, it means 28 percent more

mileage than the E-Transit equipped with the

standard 68 kWh battery. Still, the Blue Oval

improves charging operations for the upgraded

version: maximum capacity increases from 11

to 22 kW in AC and from 115 to 180 kW in

From the compact E-Courier to the evergreen E-Transit, Ford Pro

fields four electrified commercial vehicle models (not only electric,

but also plug-in hybrid versions). All featured and distinguished by

a higher level of productivity and efficiency. We managed to drive

all of them in Barcelona, Spain.

44

DC. Actually, 116 kilometers of range is added

in just 10 minutes.

Just as by seniority the role of captain of the

commercial vehicle lineup deployed by Ford

Pro belongs to the Transit, no one questions

the leading role in the Blue Oval’s team entrusted

to the Transit Custom. And this is not

because of simple role allocation, but by virtue

of its achievements in the field. Ford Transit

Custom is the best-selling one-ton van in Europe.

And that alone would be an important

calling card. Today, the Ford Pro model is

also declined as full electric and Plug-in Hybrid

(PHEV). Powered by the next-generation

electric powertrain and equipped with the 64-

kWh battery, the E-Transit Custom is credited

45

SMART TEST

All in one shot.

The test event

organized by Ford

Pro in Barcelona

allowed us to

drive all the LCVs

you can see in

these pages.

Special mention

for the new electric

Courier, featured

by a truly car-like

driving feeling.

with a 337-kilometer range, has payloads of up

to 1,011 kilos, and maintenance intervals are

biannual with unlimited mileage. In addition,

it adds innovative features including standard

5G connectivity and a tilt steering wheel. In

contrast, the corresponding PHEV version of

the Transit Custom combines a 2.5-liter Atkinson

cycle gasoline engine with an 11.8-kWh

battery. The power output is 233 hp, and the

range in electric mode reaches 56 km.

The Transit Connect PHEV

With the Transit also in an electric version dictating

the pace, the best seller Custom and the

intriguing 100 percent electric novelty of the

Courier that recently made its debut in Ford Pro

dealerships, the Transit Connect would seem to

be playing a supporting role. It would seem,

indeed. Because in fact, available as a plug-in

hybrid, the Blue Oval’s van represents in quality

and features the most centered solution for

customers seeking maximum flexibility without

sacrificing zero-emission driving. Available

in two lengths, with cargo volumes of 3.1 and

3.7 cubic meters (the latter is possible with the

Flexcab solution), the Transit Connect PHEV

is distinguished by a powertrain that combines

the 1.5-liter Ecoboost gasoline engine with a

high-voltage battery that pairs with the electric

motor. The range in electric-only mode is 119

kilometers.

The electric Ford Transit Courier is new, or

Highlights

Model type

Ford E-Transit

Battery capacity 68 kWh - 89 kWh

Est. Range up to 317 km - 402 km

Model type Ford E-Transit Custom

Battery capacity

64 kWh

Est. Range

up to 337 km

Model type Ford Transit Connect PHEV

Max. power

150 hp

Est. Range (electric only) up to 119 km

Model type Ford E-Transit Courier

Battery capacity

43 kW

Est. Range

up to 300 km

rather, completely redesigned, and it comes

with a decidedly modern and stylish, in some

ways even bold, look that conveys ruggedness

and strong personality. The difference is

substantial. As is the difference between the

previous generation and the new model of the

entry-level van in Ford’s Pro family of commercial

vehicles.

46

Ford Transit Courier, now also electric

In terms of size, the overhangs have been reduced,

while the width between wheel arches

has increased to 1,220 mm (1,535 mm between

walls) thanks to the revised rear suspension,

with more inclined shock absorbers;

the cargo length has also increased by 181

mm (to 1,802 mm). The result is the 2.9-cubic-meter

compartment (25 percent more), the

700-kilogram capacity, and, most importantly,

the ability to carry two Europallets. At the

heart of the vehicle is the 100 kW e-motor

that draws power from a 43 kWh lithium-ion

battery. These figures credit the E-Courier

with ranges of up to 300 km. It recharges

with alternating current (11 kW in just over

5 hours, also programmable via touchscreen),

or with DC up to one hundred kW - a solution

that allows a hundred km to be added in just

ten minutes.

47

TECHNO

ITALIAN CRANE MAKER FASSI TO COOPERATE WITH SWEDISH STEEL MAKER SSAB

Valuable partnership on fossil-free steel

THE AIM IS TO LOWER EMISSIONS ALONG THE PRODUCTION PROCESS

ACCELERA BY CUMMINS TO COOPERATE WITH ISUZU IN VIEW OF SUSTAINABLE SOLUTIONS

There's no e-truck without e-powertrain

THE ELECTRIC TRUCK WILL BE PRODUCED BY ISUZU FROM 2027

Swesish specialist SSAB and Italian crane manufacturer

Fassi have reached an agreement for future deliveries of steel

produced with virtually zero fossil carbon emissions. As

pointed out by the partners, the deal includes steel produced

from both iron ore and recycled scrap to be used in Fassi’s

hydraulic and truck-mounted cranes.

Traditional steel production accounts for around 7% of global

CO2 emissions, with both primary steel and recycled steel

production contributing to emissions. To reduce the climate

impact, SSAB is investing in new innovative production

technologies that will enable steel production with close to zero

fossil carbon emissions, regardless of whether the raw material

is recycled scrap or primary iron ore.

Indeed, patented SSAB Zero is made using recycled steel

and produced with fossil-free electricity and biogas and is

available for commercial deliveries since 2023. Additionally,

SSAB has developed fossil-free steel made from iron ore with

the HYBRIT technology, which uses hydrogen and fossil-free

energy instead of coal in the steelmaking process.

“We look forward to deepening our collaboration with Fassi

by delivering premium high-strength steel produced with

significantly lower carbon footprint,” said Per Elfgren, Head

of SSAB Special Steels. “At SSAB, we are proud to partner

with leading companies that share our passion for innovation,

sustainability and unique advanced products.”

“Innovation is a projection towards the future. And there is

no future without sustainability” added Giovanni Fassi, CEO

of Fassi. “For this reason, we have chosen to participate with

enthusiasm and determination in this partnership with SSAB to

develop our cranes of tomorrow”.

A LITTLE HELP FROM THE SUN

PACCAR Parts is introducing

ultra-thin, flexible solar panels

that can be installed on almost

every cab, trailer and body. The

cells are capable to charge the

battery continuously with solar

energy. According to PACCAR,

the solar panels are available in

two sizes: the smaller version

is a mere 3 millimetres thick,

measures 110 x 30 centimetres,

weighs only 700 g and uses 16

cells to deliver 55 Wp. The larger

version is twice the size, weighs

1.3 kg and has 32

cells that deliver

110 Wp. Among

the benefits, the

panels ensure that

the driver rarely

needs to start the

engine (sometimes

not at all) when

using accessories

while the truck is

parked.

Fuel cell maker

Rampini is an Italian-based zero emission bus

manufacturer. Now, the company has announced

the establishment of a brand-new division called

H2EUPower, specializing in a series of hydrogen

fuel cell power system solutions in the power

range from 30 to 140 kilowatts for commercial

vehicles, off-highway and stationary applications.

Although part of the Rampini group, H2EUPower

operates “independently from the parent

company in terms of both technical and

commercial aspects of its business”, reports the

press release announcing the new development,

released last March.

“Over the following few months, the division

was further bolstered with some of the top fuel

cell power systems’ technical and commercial

experts, thus bringing together an unprecedented

experience of over 25 fuel cell power system

OEM design wins across Europe, North America

and Asia Pacific”.

Accelera by Cummins and Isuzu Motors Limited will

introduce a new battery electric powertrain for the F-series mediumduty

truck at this year’s ACT Expo in Anaheim, California.

Scheduled for production in 2027, the fully integrated powertrain

will feature Accelera’s next-generation battery, eAxle, accessories

and controls, and offer customers an innovative and versatile solution

to fleet decarbonization.

The truck will feature next-generation Accelera technologies, such

as advanced lithium iron phosphate (LFP) tiered platform batteries,

14Xe eAxle equipped with patented ELFA motor and inverter, as

well as power Controls and Accessory Systems (PCAS) 3.0. The

latter is a system that integrates vehicle accessories and controls into

a compact design that optimizes packaging flexibility.

“Introducing the new battery electric powertrain for Isuzu’s F-series

medium-duty truck is a significant milestone in the journey toward

a future of zero-emissions commercial transportation,” said Amy

Davis, President of Accelera. “The integration of Accelera’s

advanced components into this truck showcases our expertise as a

leader in zero-emissions powertrain technology and our commitment

to delivering innovative solutions tailored to our customers’ needs.”

“For our customers in the US and Canada, we are very excited to

expand our product offering in class 6 and 7 to include an F-Series

BEV zero-emissions truck starting in 2027 in collaboration with

Accelera,” added Shaun Skinner, President and CEO of Isuzu

Commercial Truck of America, Inc.

“This addition to Isuzu’s portfolio assists us in providing customers

more options to meet their medium-duty truck needs and maximize

operational efficiencies”.

BATTERY RECYCLING

Webasto and recycling scaleup

from Aachen cylib will be

working together with the aim of

turning today’s used batteries

into tomorrow’s urgently needed

raw materials. “Partnerships

between automotive suppliers

and recycling companies

therefore play a central role

when it comes to both meeting

sustainability targets and

ensuring the availability of

raw materials”, commented

Webasto.The agreement

stipulates that the cylib will

collect and recycle used batteries

and production

waste from

battery

production at

European sites

of Webasto. The latter has been

producing battery systems for

cars and commercial vehicles,

among other things, since 2019.

Indeed, cylib relies on efficient

and environmentally friendly

battery recycling. All materials,

including lithium and graphite,

are fully recovered. The process

combines mechanical, thermal

and hydrometallurgical methods.

Thanks to the minimal use of

chemicals, the carbon footprint

is up to 30% lower than with

conventional methods. A waterbased

process also ensures

particularly

sustainable

recovery of

valuable raw

materials.

Truck and bus tyres

Hankook started the expansion of its European

production plant in Rácalmás, Hungary. The

building phase, which is scheduled for completion

in 2027, will culminate in a new production line

for truck and bus tyres at the site, with a capacity

of up to 800,000 units per year.

The new facility will produce Hankook’s premium

products for long-haul and mixed application,

SmartLine AL/DL 50 and SmartFlex AL/DL 51,

as well as tyres from the

new e-SMART series,

specifically designed

for electric commercial

vehicles.

Hankook is investing

around 540 million euros

until 2027 in the expansion

project, which will also

create 450 new jobs.

“We are very happy with the progress so far.

After getting necessary approvals, we were able

to commence the building works as planned and

preparatory soil construction is underway,” said

Jongho Park, President and COO of Hankook

Tire Europe. “Once the new production line is

complete, we will be manufacturing truck and bus

tyres for the European market in Europe, which

will shorten our transport routes.

48

49

Italian charging system manufacturer Alpitronic has officially

introduced the HYC1000, the company’s first megawatt charger. As stated by

the manufacturer, the HYC1000 is a distributed charging system designed to

maximize the utilization of power electronics. It completes Alpitronic’s EV DC

charging portfolio, offering a flexible solution for a wide range of charging needs,

from multi-port charging for passenger cars and trucks with CCS/NACS to MCS

charging for long-haul trucks. With its modular, compact design, the HYC1000

ensures a smaller footprint, and increased charging capacity, compared to the

existing charging solutions for heavy-duty vehicles. Some key features are: up to

1 MW charge on a single connector, simultaneous charging of up to 8 vehicles,

modular and compact design, output range from 150 V to 1000 V. This innovative

system offers significant advantages in terms of power utilisation, efficiency

and flexibility, making it an ideal solution for a wide range of DC fast charging

locations,” commented Philipp Senoner, CEO of Alpitronic.

50

INFRASTRUCTURE

ALPITRONIC LAUNCHES THE COMPANY’S NEW MCS

Mega(watt) announcement

FIRST DELIVERIES EXPECTED IN JULY, 2025

Coming soon.

Charging

system

manufacturer

Alpitronic

made the

announcement

in February

during a launch

event held at

the company’s

HQs located

in Bolzano,

Northern Italy.

INNOVATIVE CHARGING SCHEME

Daimler Truck plans new charging

network under the TruckCharge brand.

The latter was introduced at the last

edition of IAA Transportation, last year

in Hannover. According to the project,

semi-public charging provides eTruck

owners a larger scale of cost-efficient

charging opportunities and enables site

operators to open their depot charging

infrastructure up to third parties.

As part of the semi-public charging

network, depot owners can make their

own charging stations available at times

when they do not need them – helping to

ensure a more comprehensive charging

network for electric trucks. Daimler

Truck aims to launch the semi-public

charging network in the third quarter

of 2025. TruckCharge’s semi-public

network is intended to complement

the existing public charging network,

operated by Milence among others. In

other words, TruckCharge assumes

the role of intermediary between site

operators and fleet operators and creates

the opportunity for planning, booking,

reservation and payment processes.

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