Volvo Group

somewhere like that yeah

it would take Well, they were in Hall 11, and then their partners in crime, Volvo Group, were having their press conference at 9.20.

So 20 minutes later.

Yeah, no, no, sorry, 9.40. On paper, it's 40 minutes, but you've got to sit through 20 minutes of Renault trucks announcing said engine and said electric vehicles on their range.

So RTX Scotland off the back of that probably won't see that.

But I think next year and beyond, we might well see a few of the Chinese truck makers arrive.

Looking at the UK as a potential market, they might already have partnerships in place with various people for the after sales as well.

So I think we'll be watching this space.

In September of this year, about 20 Aurora trucks, autonomous trucks, they expect to have by January, maybe 200, roughly in that area.

They've got partners with Volvo and Packard International.

We were in that truck today.

Those are the areas where they expect to grow.

They were a late player in Canada, but Kenworth was here all that time.

And was Volvo and stuff here too? Who? Volvo?

Oh, Volvo, no.

Well, Volvo didn't get into the North American market, I don't think, until the mid-70s or something like that.

I don't remember exactly, but...

They were never a big player until then.

It's almost like, you know, all bigger companies, they don't buy Kenworths or, you know, Peterbelts anymore.

Big companies, I'm speaking of big companies, like massive, you know, companies.

Their most ambitious electric commercial vehicle yet, 651 kilowatt-hour battery, up to 100,000 horsepower, more than 1.5 megawatts of charging power.

Looks like you know, a man truck, a Volvo, a Mercedes-Benz truck, as you would expect.

To

charge this car, you have to connect to the big lines going through the desert, okay? You have a special hook, hang on it, and then connect to your car.

Then they're working with major truck manufacturers to integrate that technology into commercial trucks.

That includes PACCAR, which is behind Peterbilt and Kenworth, as well as Volvo.

And I think that distinction matters tremendously Imagine if Aurora had to manufacture every truck themselves.

Now you're talking about factories, inventory, supply chains, manufacturing labor, dealer networks, massive capital requirements.

That's Don Beyer, who was the lieutenant governor of Virginia for two terms.

I think he's still connected to Don Beyer, what, Volvo, Don Beyer Automotive.

So supposedly he's worth $100 million.

I am a Republican.

Trucks, fueling infrastructure, and hydrogen supply all need to scale at roughly the same time.

Volvo Group, Daimler Truck, Toyota Motor Corporation, Bosch, Air Liquide, Total Energies, Thiel Mobility, and MB Energy are among the participants.

German policymakers are also involved, bringing vehicle manufacturers, technology providers, fuel suppliers, and public sector stakeholders into the same effort.

The group is targeting broader deployment of hydrogen-powered heavy-duty vehicles by 2030.

And when we talk about Australian manufacturing, which we just did a moment ago, it's something that might surprise you, listener.

We actually still build trucks here.

I know we stopped building cars some time ago, but we build Kenworths, Volvos and Macs here in Victoria and up in Queensland.

And a European brand.

I'm just trying to think of it.