Articles tagged with "commercial-vehicles"
BYD's BEV Sales Grew 28% In 2025, But Dropped 8% In December - CleanTechnica
In 2025, BYD experienced mixed results in its electric vehicle sales. The company’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales grew by 28% over the year, signaling strong overall growth. However, this positive trend masked a notable decline at the end of the year, with BEV sales dropping 8% in December compared to the previous year. Plugin hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) sales also declined, falling 8% for the year and sharply dropping 25.7% in December, despite growth in BYD’s PHEV sales in Europe. Overall, BYD’s passenger plugin vehicle sales increased by 6.8% in 2025 but decreased 19.4% in December year-over-year. Looking at BYD’s commercial electric vehicles, the results were varied. Electric bus sales declined significantly, down 11.8% for the year and plummeting 63.6% in December 2025 compared to December 2024.
energyelectric-vehiclesBEVPHEVcommercial-vehiclesrenewable-energyautomotive-salesKia PV5 Earns Global Recognition Across Performance, Safety, Design and Innovation in 2025 - CleanTechnica
The Kia PV5, Kia’s first all-electric purpose-built vehicle (PBV), has garnered extensive global recognition in its debut year, winning numerous prestigious awards across performance, safety, design, family usability, and long-distance capability. These accolades validate Kia’s customer-driven PBV strategy, which emphasizes modular design, practical engineering, and the brand’s heritage in commercial vehicles. The PV5’s success underscores Kia’s commitment to redefining mobility through electrification and scalable PBV ecosystems, aiming to deliver innovative mobility solutions for businesses, cities, and individuals. In Europe, the PV5 has been particularly celebrated, securing multiple “Van of the Year” titles from leading commercial vehicle authorities such as Electrifying.com, What Van?, Parkers, and News UK. Judges praised the PV5 for its modular platform, ease of conversion, refined electric drivability, operator-focused features, and inclusive design, including wheelchair accessibility. The vehicle’s quiet operation, urban maneuverability, and competitive pricing further distinguish it in the
energyelectric-vehiclesKia-PV5modular-designmobility-solutionselectric-vanscommercial-vehiclesKia PV5 Wins Another Huge Van of the Year Award - CleanTechnica
The Kia PV5, part of Kia’s Purpose-Built Vehicle (PBV) platform, has garnered multiple prestigious awards, underscoring its strong position in the electric light commercial vehicle (eLCV) market. Notably, the PV5 Cargo variant won both the “Van of the Year” and “Compact Van of the Year” awards at the 2026 What Van? Awards in the UK, a significant recognition judged by an independent panel of industry experts. This follows earlier accolades, including the PV5 winning the IVOTY Award in France—the first South Korean brand to do so—and the PV5 Passenger variant receiving an award from BBC’s Top Gear. The PV5 also earned a perfect 10/10 score in the 2025 What Van? Review, praised for its exceptional real-world performance, usability, and innovative design tailored for commercial use. Key features of the Kia PV5 include a long-range 71.2 kWh battery offering up to 258 miles WL
energyelectric-vehiclesKia-PV5electric-vancommercial-vehicleselectrificationbattery-technologyKia PBV Experience Center — One Off? Or New Thing? - CleanTechnica
Kia has launched its first “PBV Experience Center” in South Korea as part of a strategic push to accelerate its global Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) business, focusing on commercial electric vehicles. The center serves as a dedicated space where the full range of Kia’s PBV models can be explored, offering tailored business and lifestyle experiences, co-design opportunities with partners, and fostering collaboration on new business models. This initiative aligns with Kia’s broader commitment to sustainable mobility solutions and aims to attract business customers by providing an immersive environment to experience and customize PBV offerings. The launch of the Experience Center coincides with the completion of Kia’s specialized PBV production facility, the Hwaseong EVO Plant East, signaling a stepwise expansion of its commercial EV business. Kia highlights the success of its PV5 model, which recently won the 2026 International Van of the Year award and set a Guinness World Record for electric light commercial vehicles, underscoring the competitiveness of its PBV lineup. The Experience
energyelectric-vehiclessustainable-mobilitycommercial-vehiclesautomotive-innovationKia-PBVelectric-light-commercial-vehiclesKia Reveals New PV5 Chassis Cab - CleanTechnica
Kia has unveiled the PV5 Chassis Cab, a new variant of its modular Platform Beyond Vehicle (PBV) electric fleet lineup, at the SOLUTRANS 2025 event in Lyon, France, a leading European trade show for commercial vehicle innovations. Designed specifically for electrification, efficiency, and conversion flexibility, the PV5 Chassis Cab is a sub-five-metre light commercial vehicle offering up to 1,005 kilograms of payload and eight cubic metres of cargo space, rivaling larger vans while maintaining compact urban maneuverability with a 5.5-metre turning radius. Developed in collaboration with European converters, it supports multiple professional conversions such as Dropside, Tipper, Box Vans, and Refrigerated Vans, catering to diverse commercial needs. The PV5 Chassis Cab will launch with a 51.5-kWh battery and a longer-range 71.2-kWh option arriving in 2026, providing an estimated range of up to 297 km and 416
electric-vehiclesmodular-platformKia-PV5clean-energyzero-emissionselectric-fleetcommercial-vehiclesHarbinger raises $160M, will build trucks for FedEx
Los Angeles-based electric truck startup Harbinger has raised $160 million in a Series C funding round co-led by FedEx and RV-builder THOR Industries, alongside Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund and previous investors including Volkswagen-backed Leitmotif and Tiger Global. Founded in 2022 by former employees of Canoo and QuantumScape, Harbinger focuses exclusively on building medium-duty commercial electric truck chassis. The company has rapidly progressed, raising $100 million in Series B funding earlier this year and beginning production of its chassis, with over 200 units sold so far in 2024 and plans to expand into the Canadian market. As part of the investment, FedEx has ordered 53 electric truck chassis from Harbinger, expected to be delivered by the end of 2024. This marks a significant step for FedEx, which has been pursuing electric trucks for over a decade following a failed 2018 deal with another startup, Chanje. Harbinger’s focus on larger medium-duty
electric-truckscommercial-vehiclesFedExbattery-technologysustainable-transportationEV-startupsmedium-duty-trucksBYD Electric Truck Sales Soar — Charts - CleanTechnica
The article from CleanTechnica reports on BYD's electric commercial vehicle sales performance, highlighting a divergence between electric bus sales and non-bus commercial vehicle sales in October 2025. BYD’s electric bus sales declined by 16.2%, dropping from 438 units in October 2024 to 367 units in October 2025. Despite this monthly decline, bus sales for the first ten months of 2025 were up 8.4% year-over-year. In contrast, BYD’s non-bus electric commercial vehicle sales surged dramatically, increasing 164.8% from 1,693 units in October 2024 to 4,483 units in October 2025. This figure marked the highest monthly total since June 2025, though not a new record. More impressively, non-bus commercial vehicle sales grew 327.1% year-over-year for the first ten months of 2025, exceeding 42,000 units compared to
electric-vehicleselectric-trucksBYDcommercial-vehiclesclean-energyrenewable-energyelectric-mobilityKia PV5 Cargo Sets GUINNESS WORLD RECORD - CleanTechnica
Kia has set a new GUINNESS WORLD RECORD™ with its PV5 Cargo electric van, which traveled 693.38 km (430.84 miles) on a single charge while carrying its maximum payload of 665 kg. The record, officially recognized as “the greatest distance travelled by a light-duty battery-powered electric van with maximum payload,” was achieved using the PV5 Cargo Long Range model equipped with a 71.2 kWh battery. Notably, the test was conducted on public roads in Frankfurt, Germany, over a 58.2 km urban and extra-urban loop that included typical city driving conditions such as traffic lights, intersections, roundabouts, and an elevation gain of approximately 370 meters. The van completed 12 loops under these demanding conditions, demonstrating its efficiency and reliability for sustainable urban delivery operations. The record-setting drive lasted 22 hours and 30 minutes and was carried out by a team including Christopher Nigemeier, Senior Engineer at Hyundai Motor Europe Technical Center
energyelectric-vehiclesbattery-technologyclean-transportationsustainable-mobilitylogisticscommercial-vehiclesBYD Electric Bus Sales Grow 128.5% - CleanTechnica
BYD experienced significant growth in its electric commercial vehicle sales in 2025, particularly in the fully electric bus segment. In July 2025, BYD’s electric bus sales surged by 128.5% year-over-year, increasing from 267 units in July 2024 to 610 units. However, the overall bus sales growth from January to July 2025 was more modest at 24.7%, suggesting that the July spike may be an outlier rather than a consistent trend. For comparison, BYD sold 280 electric buses in July 2023. The company’s non-bus commercial electric vehicle sales also showed remarkable growth, rising from 776 units in July 2023 to 2,656 units in July 2025, a 101.7% increase year-over-year for that month. More impressively, from January to July 2025, non-bus commercial vehicle sales grew by 552.6% compared to the same period in
electric-vehiclesBYDelectric-busesclean-energyrenewable-energycommercial-vehiclesEV-sales-growthStellantis Joins Growing List Of Hydrogen Mobility Retreats - CleanTechnica
Stellantis, a major global automaker and early advocate for hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) in light commercial transport, has recently retreated from its hydrogen mobility ambitions. Despite launching eight new hydrogen-powered van models in early 2024 and investing heavily—including a 33% stake in French fuel cell supplier Symbio—Stellantis faced harsh economic realities. The company projected producing up to 10,000 hydrogen vans by the end of 2024, banking on supportive European policies and infrastructure. However, the high costs of hydrogen vehicles, which remained about 80% more expensive than comparable battery-electric models even after significant price cuts, proved prohibitive. Former CEO Carlos Tavares publicly acknowledged these challenges, and his departure later in 2024 underscored strategic uncertainties around hydrogen. Stellantis’ withdrawal highlights persistent structural issues with hydrogen mobility, notably the failure of promised European hydrogen refueling infrastructure to materialize. The EU’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation has seen
energyhydrogen-fuel-cellshydrogen-mobilityzero-emission-vehiclescommercial-vehiclesautomotive-industrysustainable-transportationBYD Electric Truck Sales Up 333% (or 711%) — CHARTS - CleanTechnica
The article reports a significant surge in BYD’s electric commercial vehicle sales, particularly in the non-bus segment. While BYD’s electric bus sales have remained relatively stable with minor fluctuations—showing a slight 0.8% year-over-year decline in June but an 11.5% increase over the first half of 2025—the non-bus commercial vehicle sales have experienced explosive growth. In June 2025, these sales rose by 333% compared to June 2024, and for the first half of 2025, sales soared by an impressive 711%. In volume terms, monthly sales jumped from 1,055 units in June 2024 to 4,568 units in June 2025, and half-year sales increased from 3,740 units to 30,344 units over the same periods. This remarkable growth in BYD’s commercial vehicle segment contrasts with its passenger vehicle sales and is substantial enough to warrant separate attention. The article suggests that
electric-vehiclesBYDelectric-truckscommercial-vehiclesclean-energyrenewable-energytransportation-technologyAutonomous trucking developer Plus goes public via SPAC - The Robot Report
Plus Automation Inc., a developer of autonomous driving software for commercial trucks, is going public through a merger with Churchill Capital Corp IX, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC). The combined company will operate as PlusAI, with a mission to address the trucking industry’s driver shortage by delivering advanced autonomous vehicle technology. Founded in 2016 and based in Santa Clara, California, Plus has deployed its technology across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, accumulating over 5 million miles of autonomous driving. Its core product, SuperDrive, enables SAE Level 4 autonomous driving with a three-layer redundancy system designed specifically for heavy commercial trucks. Plus achieved a significant driver-out safety validation milestone in April 2025 and is conducting public road testing in Texas and Sweden, targeting a commercial launch of factory-built autonomous trucks in 2027. Plus emphasizes an OEM-led commercialization strategy, partnering with major vehicle manufacturers such as TRATON GROUP, Hyundai, and IVECO to integrate its virtual driver software directly into factory-built trucks. This approach leverages trusted manufacturing and service networks to scale deployment and provide fleet operators with a clear path to autonomy. Strategic collaborations with companies like DSV, Bosch, and NVIDIA support this effort. Notably, Plus and IVECO launched an automated trucking pilot in Germany in partnership with logistics provider DSV and retailer dm-drogerie markt, demonstrating real-world applications of their technology. The SPAC transaction values Plus at a pre-money equity valuation of $1.2 billion and is expected to raise $300 million in gross proceeds, which will fund the company through its planned commercial launch in 2027. The deal has been unanimously approved by both companies’ boards and is anticipated to close in Q4 2025, pending shareholder approval and customary closing conditions. This public listing marks a significant step for Plus as it scales its autonomous trucking technology to address industry challenges and expand globally.
robotautonomous-trucksAImachine-learningcommercial-vehiclesLevel-4-autonomytransportation-technologyBYD's Commercial Vehicle Sales Up 531% in May — CHARTS - CleanTechnica
energyelectric-vehiclescommercial-vehiclesBYDsales-growthclean-technologytransportationBYD Electric Truck Sales Up 1,195%
electric-vehiclesBYDcommercial-vehiclesclean-energyelectric-trucksrenewable-energytransportation