Volvo Trucks, the manufacturing arm of Volvo Group, underscored its commitment to offering autonomous commercial vehicles in the near future with the announcement recently that it has developed a self-driving, battery-electric, tractor-like unit it calls Vera.

Diesel fuel still has a large role to play in achieving greater emissions reductions in heavy-duty trucks, experts said during a recent conference in San Francisco. Separately, they urged more in-use testing of engines to verify the gains, and increased use of renewable diesel, which is chemically similar to petroleum diesel, but cleaner.

U.S. truck makers, new startups and independent engine manufacturer Cummins Inc. have helped generate the early buzz on electrified trucks, cleaner emissions and less reliance on diesel fuel. Now, that buzz is generating buzz.

The U.S. average retail price of diesel inched up 0.6 cent to $3.258 a gallon, while crude oil prices fell amid questions over supplies in light of looming sanctions against Iran.

Orders for Class 8 trucks in August shattered the previous record for the month, surpassing 53,000 for the highest tally of the year and for the second consecutive month setting a record in a surprisingly active summer.

Navistar International Corp. reported a surge in net income and an 18% increase in revenue for its fiscal year third quarter, citing the market’s enthusiasm for its latest truck and engine products, and expressed confidence that current market conditions would continue into the first half of 2019 — and possibly beyond.

Florida posted the biggest surge among states in the use of heavy-duty trucks with clean diesel engines in 2017, notching an 81% jump compared with a year earlier, according to data from IHS Markit. This increase came as fleet confidence in the technology took hold and more freight-hauling opportunities opened up in the nation’s fourth-largest state economy, other experts said.

Bendix Commercial Vehicle Systems announced the next generation of both its Wingman Fusion advanced driver assistance system and its BlindSpotter side object detection system.

Officials at transportation service company Ruan got a chance to see Tesla Inc.’s prototype battery-electric heavy-duty truck, which toured the country recently, stopping at some carriers that have placed orders for the truck that is scheduled for fleet testing in 2019.

TravelCenters of America announced a definitive agreement for the sale of its Minit Mart convenience store business to EG Group for $330.8 million as it intends to focus on commercial trucks and other vehicles traveling on interstates, and a new express travel center strategy.