31 minute read
The world’s one and only truck show?
Story Wayne Munro
All pictures: It’s showtime! In what is probably the only truck show happening anywhere in the COVID-restricted world this year, the Brisbane Truck Show carried on regardless....and 31,000 turned up
T’S AUSTRALIA’S NO. 1 TRUCK SHOW…AND IN RECENT
years the lack of a bigtime New Zealand equivalent has meant that the Brisbane Truck Show has attracted heaps of Kiwi truckies too. But this year’s Brizzy biennial was probably missing its usual big Kiwi contingent.
I say probably, because I was among the “regulars” who didn’t make the trip this May – put off by the lingering risk of getting caught up in some random COVID-19 outbreak, and the fact that the Trans-Tasman Travel Bubble hadn’t long been in place before last month’s show, making planning problematic….
Plus there was the withdrawal from the show of truckmaker heavyweights Volvo, Mack, UD, Isuzu, Scania and Hino – all having announced (at various points in the months leading up to the show) that they were pulling out because of the likely, possible and/or actual effects of COVID.
Enginemaker Cummins and Chinese light truck Foton also decided to give it a miss.
The show organisers, on the other hand, clearly felt that the COVID-depressed industry badly needed a lift and took the gamble that there’d be no community outbreak that would cruelly shut the event down.
The good old, show-must-go-on approach paid off: More manufacturers turned up than stayed away – with the Daimler group’s Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and FUSO brands all on show, alongside PACCAR’s Kenworth and DAF and Penske’s Western Star and MAN brands.
Also in was Iveco – along with Hyundai, Chinese make JAC and homegrown electric truck suppliers SEA Electric and Janus Electric.
They were joined by more than 250 other exhibitors – trailermakers (15 or more of ‘em), tyre manufacturers, fuel and oil companies and suppliers of everything from telematics, axles, insurance and lights….to engines, transmissions, bumpers, fridge units and brakes.
Sure, inside the usually-jam-packed main exhibition hall at the Brisbane Convention Centre for once (in recent times, at least) there was actually enough space that a fleet of classic trucks were allowed a prime posi.
After 31,000 showgoers turned up over the four days of the BTS – despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19 (or, maybe, because of it – a celebration of being freed from its restrictions), you could sense the relief felt by the organisers, the Heavy Vehicle Industry Australia (HVIA).
Chief executive Todd Hacking said proudly that the biennial show’s purpose – connecting the road transport industry with the community and the Government – was once again achieved…. thanks to “the indomitable spirit and commitment” of association members and the BTS exhibitors, stakeholders and sponsors “who were resolute in supporting the event…..who got behind the event and stuck with it through thick and thin.
“No other country is holding an event like this since COVID hit. The HVIA couldn’t be happier with the turnout of visitors from around Australia.”
It was, he noted, the first chance for people in the industry “to catch up with mates – to be here with many of their colleagues they have known for years and haven’t seen because of COVID.”
Federal Assistant Minister for Road Safety and Freight Transport Scott Buchholz was all for the show as well – turning up to check it out and seeing it as not only displaying “the latest and greatest” but also recognising the contribution of workers in the industry – “Australia’s unsung heroes.
“I want to thank all the freight operators, drivers, DC workers, manufacturing and maintenance crews who have met the challenge of increased local demand, keeping our supermarkets stocked and our economy running.”
Above: Freightliner’s Cascadia, which had its Australian launch at the Brisbane show in 2019, was back.... with a few safety and technology updates Right: The show organisers reckoned that, importantly, the show gave people in the industry the chance to catch up with old mates Far right: The show put on a laser light show above the Brisbane River as part of its community engagement
Of course, he also reckoned that industry feedback was “a positive sign” that the transport, freight and heavy vehicle sectors were benefiting from the Federal Government’s investments and initiatives and were “driving the COVID-19 recovery.
“Our initiatives are keeping money in transport and trucking businesses, giving them the confidence to take on an extra worker, offer an extra shift or buy a new piece of equipment, Buchholz said.
What Buchholz and the other showgoers got to see included a mix of a pretty good lineup of current truck models, a headturning new limited edition Kenworth Legend, a couple of more down to earth new models…
And a strong emphasis on electrification, with FUSO showing off its eCanter – now launched in Australia as well as NZ – and leading Australian etruck supplier SEA Electric taking a major stand at the show.
The zero emissions push also saw Chinese make JAC launch a light-duty electric truck and Ozzie startup Janus Electric pushed its electrified Kenworth – with a quick-change battery pack that the company reckoned can be forklifted into place in just three minutes when its 400 to 500-kilometre range is nearly done.... making it viable for long-distance applications.
But, interesting as Janus’ electrified T403 was (albeit with a real ugly flat nose where the KW grille used to be), it didn’t come close to challenging another Kenworth as arguably the truck of the show – a 50th Anniversary Edition Legend SAR stunner that presents a modern, reasonably-high-tech truck, plus old-school, classic North American styling touches.
It was supported by a strong anniversary branding of the entire PACCAR stand – with the 11 Kenworths and DAFs all adorned with airbrushed pictures celebrating the North American truckmaker’s half-century of manufacturing in Australia.
PACCAR Australia’s sales and marketing director Brad May said that the company was “so pleased to be supporting the trucking industry with our bold presence at the show.”
May reckoned that, by fostering a culture of innovation and investing heavily in next-generation technologies, “Kenworth has risen to every challenge over the 50-year journey….
“From the removal of import tariffs, soaring fuel costs, economic downturns, global recessions, dimensional changes, emission reductions, to – most recently – a pandemic demanding changes to the production line to protect the workforce and maintain supply of trucks to the essential transport industry.”
That’s something to celebrate – and it did….by unveiling the third of its limited edition Legend models, following on from a Legend 950 in 2015 and the Legend 900 in 2017. Like them it will be on sale for just one day (in this case, July 8).
The 6x4 tractor unit is modelled on the iconic W900SAR – the very first Kenworth designed and built in Australia, for Aussie (and NZ).
Kenworth said that the Legend SAR “is in a league of its own,
Opposite page & top right: Kenworth’s 50th Anniversary Legend SAR had showgoers queuing to climb inside Above: FUSO launched a new 360hp Shogun model Right: Feel the pressure! teams in the HVIA National Apprentice Challenge competed under the gaze of hundreds of spectators
combining the latest technology for safer, cleaner and more productive operation, with features that embrace Kenworth’s unique heritage.”
What showgoers queued to get close up to includes heritage styling such as a two-piece (split) windscreen with chrome trim, bullet-style cab marker lights and dual round air horns, oldschool KW and Cummins badges and round indicator lights, an anniversary edition red and gold traditional Kenworth bug and a reproduction SAR grille.
It has Legend SAR 50th Anniversary branding inside and out and flashback touches like a beige-painted Cummins X15 engine, a traditional flat dash layout and handmade chrome gauges.
For the rest, the KW lineup comprised an unchanged but impressive-looking collection, including the most recent addition to the range, the T410SAR, a T610 with an integrated 1400mm aero sleeper, the urban and regional T360 model, an iconic T909 with a 50-inch aero sleeper and a 2.8m sleeper cab K200.
The DAF presence provided equally good-looking backup to the Kenworths, the Euro cabovers headed by a flagship XF FTT with a Super Space cab, supported by the CF 530 FTT, a CF 530 FAT 6x4 tipper, and the PACCAR MX-11-engined CF 450 FTT.
The move to local assembly of the CFs at the PACCAR factory in Melbourne “continues to provide customers with higher levels of customisation through local engineering input, and greater cost savings through local parts sourcing,” said May.
Impressive in an altogether different way was a DAF LF260. It was impressive for the fact that it was purposebuilt by PACCAR, in a partnership with the Australian Trucking Association, as a “multi-purpose resource that will connect, educate, support and promote the trucking industry.”
The “game-changing” project will utilise the DAF, which is fitted with a custombuilt body that has a flexible work, meeting and media space, plus audio-visual capabilities for external presentations – all powered by a Cummins generator.
The flexi-use truck is available for organisations and associations to use “in support of industry initiatives…..at on-site events, industry activations, conferences, or at the roadside,” said ATA chair David Smith.
The DAF, which showcases the make’s “latest technology and safety features,” will be capable of delivering outdoor presentations, onsite health checks, hosting regional meetings, acting as a media hub or serving “as a support centre that responds to industry needs in times of crisis,” he said.
The truck immediately went to work at the show – used by notfor-profit industry foundation Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds and a driver wellbeing programme – to provide free driver health checkups.
Beyond the show, said a spokesperson, the truck will be “invaluable as it allows us to reach communities and businesses across the country to deliver support, resources and tools that promote better mental health and wellbeing outcomes.”
Interestingly, on the Daimler stand – just opposite the PACCAR display – Freightliner lined up a trio of Cascadias in what looked like the same royal blue paint as the Kenworths and DAFs!
Freightliner used the show to announce that it will introduce a head-protecting side airbag on the Cascadia late this year – a first among Aussie conventionals, it said…just as its steering wheelmounted airbag already is.
Daimler Truck and Bus Australia Pacific boss Daniel Whitehead reckoned: “There is no good reason why conventional truck drivers in Australia should not be able to drive a truck fitted with the latest safety features.”
Freightliner Trucks Australia Pacific director Stephen Downes said: “A conventional truck with fully integrated advanced safety technology like Detroit Assurance 5.0 and not one but two airbags is exactly what many of our customers have been asking for in this class.
“When this lifesaving technology is available for Cascadia, but none of its rivals – not even the most recent additions – the Cascadia is the only choice for customers who care about safety. Considering the Cascadia’s fantastic fuel economy and advanced comfort, the new safety addition only makes the business case stronger.”
The Detroit Assurance 5.0 safety package, which is standard in the Cascadia, features AEBS, adaptive cruise control, tailgate warning, lane departure warning and intelligent high beam headlight control, automatic windscreen wipers and intelligent high-beam headlights.
Freightliner also showed off a new digital dashboard, using two large tablet-style screens in place of the traditional instrument cluster, that will be an option for the Cascadia later this year.
It’s another first for a conventional truck in Australia and NZ, the company said – with a 12.3-inch screen displaying a digital tacho, speedo, gauges, trip data and adaptive cruise control system info, while a 10-inch touch-screen provides access to a range of info and settings, plus a row of traditional buttons for quick access to the likes of stereo controls.
Downes reckoned that the digital dashboard is another way in which the Cascadia is “raising the bar in the conventional truck class” – as it had already with its “spacious and ergonomic” cab.
Alongside on the Daimler stand, Mercedes-Benz Trucks had a few high-tech tricks of their own to show off – announcing the launch of a validation programme in Australia and NZ for Active Drive Assist technology…capable of helping an Actros steer itself.
The system enables SAE Level 2 partially automated driving – a first for NZ – using cameras to monitor the edge of the road and lane markings, then taking that data to help steer the truck and keep it in the centre of its lane. The driver still has to hold the steering wheel (just in case, I guess!).
The system, Merc said, is “one step ahead of some current systems that can push a truck back into the lane should it wander out.” This system “actually helps to steer the truck in the first place and aims to prevent it getting out to the edge of the lane.”
The 20-truck trial will see five units running in NZ, in customer fleets – with M-B using the data from the vehicles and operator feedback to decide whether to add Active Drive Assist as an option here.
Mercedes-Benz Trucks Australia Pacific director Andrew Assimo said Merc is “always looking for new technology to boost safety and reduce fuel consumption and emissions and we think Active Drive Assist could deliver genuine benefits to our customers.
“Level 2 automation has the potential to deliver a major safety boost and make life easier for drivers by helping to reduce fatigue, so naturally we are very keen to validate how the system operates on Australian and NZ roads.
“More and more customers are placing increased importance on advanced active safety features that can help protect truck drivers and other road users,” Assimo added.
“Mercedes-Benz has been at the forefront with fully-integrated active safety systems and we intend to continue this leadership.”
M-B also announced that its Active Brake Assist 5 system has been added to the Arocs 8x4 – so that it’s now available across the entire Australasian range of rigid highway trucks.
Application-related engineering challenges have been overcome to add the radar-based braking system to the twin-steers’ existing safety features, which include electronic stability programme, driver airbag and lane departure warning.
The system works to avoid collisions, with the ability to bring the truck to a complete halt when it detects moving pedestrians.
The M-B rigid range now also has lane keeping assist and attention assist (which raises an alert if a driver begins to drive in a fatigue-affected manner), with predictive cruise control and the MirrorCam system as options.
Next-door, on the FUSO section of the Daimler stand, alongside the much publicised eCanter, the Shogun 360 rigid got its Australian launch – the 6x4 or 6x2 developed as a 14-pallet distribution truck “with class-leading safety, comfort and Euro 6 emissions, using a more compact engine.”
The 360, which has a tare starting at 6950kg, has Daimler’s Euro 6 OM936 7.7-litre six-cylinder, with 360hp and 1400Nm of peak torque and a 12-speed AMT with Eco Roll for fuel saving and an advanced crawler mode for low-speed manoeuvring.
Safety features include advanced emergency braking, lane departure warning, electronic stability and driver attention assist.
Fuso Truck and Bus director Alex Müller said the Shogun 360 was developed in response to many customers in the 14-pallet distribution sector “asking for a truck with the safety, quality and efficiency of Shogun…
“We have already taken extensive orders for this exciting new Shogun model and are pleased that our customers value the safety and fuel efficiency the 360 offers.”
Elsewhere in the main pavilion at BTS, Western Star Trucks was, like Kenworth, also celebrating a milestone – the 40th anniversary of the Western Star make’s launch in Australia…. appropriately enough, at the Brisbane Truck Show.
In a homage to that historic first, there was a 4800 34-inch Starlight lowline roof sleeper in a spectacular “heritage” colour scheme – bright blue with pearl white stripes and stars and a red chassis.
The 500hp Detroit DD15-engined 4800 6x4 FXC tractor unit, has a GCM up to 113.5 tonnes on application (or available on order with components to push that up to 140t).
The 4800, said Western Star, is designed for maximum versatility – even switching roles seasonally, with an ability to optimise payload “on anything from a truck and dog to roadtrains
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up to 140 tonnes, with engine ratings up to 600hp.
“This Star can handle the big loads – and look good while it’s at it. Its cab is spacious and air-suspended, it’s easy to enter and exit and….it’s wider than most.”
The 4800 shared the stand with a 4900 FXC 6x4 boasting a huge (as in 82-inch huge) sleeper – and what Penske Australia’s Western Star national sales manager Dale Christensen reckoned is “what we believe to be the largest bunk on the market….”
With a 600hp Cummins X15, an 18-speed Roadranger manual and 52,000 lb Neway air suspension, it was ready for work ranging from single-trailer applications to heavy-duty roadtrain duties (with a fuel capacity just shy of 2000 litres and a 160t maximum GCM to suit the latter purpose).
While Christensen reckoned that Western Star and its customers are “passionate about our history,” he was also looking ahead…. to “the all-new Western Star platform reaching our shores in late 2022 or early 2023.”
Until then, he said, the company will “continue to roll out updates to our current range, giving customers further options” – including, for instance, the addition of FleetSafe’s Mobileye collision avoidance system and its Spotto blindspot radar.
Penske Australia’s MAN Trucks national sales manager Sergio Carboni said that the company’s display reflected the make’s “diverse truck product offering – from the medium duty TGM to the heavy hitting 640hp PerformanceLine prime mover…”
MAN, he added, “continues to be at the forefront of engineering excellence. With an eye on both the immediate future and the long term, MAN’s truck portfolio continues to evolve in partnership with Penske Australia.
“As the product offering matures, it continues to be refined to Australian customer demands.”
MAN had on display a TGX 640hp 6x4 PerformanceLine model with an XXL cab, a 13-litre TGX 540hp 6x4 with an XLX cab and a medium duty 320hp 6x4.
Penske also showed its Detroit engine lineup, with the wellestablished DD15 and the latest offering, the DD16, on display – demonstrating “the strength of the Detroit brand in the Australian market,” said Penske’s Detroit business manager Bob Gowans.
“With Detroit, there’s no compromise – our customers can have it all: From the outstanding efficiency and reliability of the DD15, to the impressive power and torque performance of the DD16, Detroit has a solution for everyone.
“And with the DD15 able to be remanufactured, further extending the life and performance of customers’ investments, there’s no better testament to the variety of the Detroit offering.”
Gowans added that customers now experiencing the new DD16 engine “are giving great feedback on the performance as well as the total cost of ownership figures they are achieving.”
If there was a Weirdest Truck of the Show prize, IVECO would surely have won it – with an ACCO 6x4 with two cabs…so it can be driven from the front or the rear.
The Q-FE Road Ant, which was displayed at BTS’ well-supported truck fest, staged in the heart of Southbank’s restaurant precinct, is an Aussie-built dual-control aggregate spreader for road sealing duties.
Shown off by IVECO in partnership with Q-FE and Trout River, it was developed and built to meet looming new rules in Australia that will require all agg. spreaders working in sprayed sealing applications to be forward-moving.
The truck, fitted with a Trout River asphalt-compatible body and 10-gate chip spreader, has safety features that are engaged when driving the vehicle from either end. The rear cab has dual controls so the operator can sit on either side, directly over the spread line – allowing uninterrupted vision of the work site and surrounding area.
The Road Ant is powered by a 360hp 8.7-litre Cursor 9 engine,
Above: MAN’s display included a 640hp TGX PerformanceLine and a 540hp TGX Left: Aussie startup Janus Electric showed an electrified Kenworth T403 and revealed a cunning plan to avoid electric linehaul trucks needing to make lengthy stops to recharge their batteries Below: The absence of a handful of major truckmakers meant there was space for a classic trucks display in the main exhibition hall Opposite page: Mercedes-Benz revealed a 20-truck trial in Australia and NZ of its partially autonomous Active Drive Assist technology
Left: Hyundai focused on its light and medium-duty models – the latter this new Pavise Above: As part of the offsite truck festival activities in Southbank streets, strongman Troy Conley-Magnusson raised $40,000 for charity – by pushing and pulling trucks (including pushing an 11.7t Freightliner for 39.64 metres!) Opposite page, main picture: Australia’s SEA Electric was a major player in this year’s show Opposite page, inset: Teletrac Navman and the Australian Trucking Association revealed its diversity “champions” at the show. This is ATA director Geoff Crouch
with an Allison six-speed automatic transmission.
IVECO said that its “extensive in-house engineering and manufacturing capabilities” mean that it is the “ideal truck manufacturer for local bodybuilders to partner with on complex builds such as the Q-FE Road Ant.”
Inside the main show pavilion, IVECO’s all Euro 6 lineup ranged upwards from a 180hp 4.5t Daily with a 3.1m tray…to a Highway 6x4 tractor unit with a 550hp Cursor 13 engine and a 70t maximum GCM.
In between them…a medium-duty Eurocargo ML160 4x2 with a 16t GVM/28t GCM, a 280hp Tector 7 engine and ZF nine-speed gearbox. There was also a 28.5t-rated 8x4 ACCO front-loading compactor garbage truck with a 360hp Cursor 9 engine, an Allison six-speed automatic and Meritor axles with IVECO ECAS suspension.
Across the range, said IVECO, is a “huge array” of safety equipment, including electronic stability control, advanced emergency braking and adaptive cruise control, with optional lane departure warning, hydraulic retarder, tyre pressure monitoring and driver attention support.
IVECO Trucks Australia MD Michael May said that the show presence was “a small taste of the vast IVECO on-highway product offering.”
The show trucks also highlighted “the benefits that IVECO enjoys as a European manufacturer with a local research and development and manufacturing capacity, that ensures all vehicles are tailored to Australia’s unique operating conditions.
“The ACCO and our heavy duty Highway range are great examples of what this global collaboration can deliver: A hightech, European platform that has undergone extensive validation and local adaptation to suit the unique demands of our Australian geographic conditions and applications.”
Australian electric truck manufacturer SEA Electric claimed a global first at the show, with the launch of a complete range of electric trucks – from 4.5-tonne models that can be driven on a car licence, to a 22.5t 6x2.
The company, which has for years retrofitted diesel-engined trucks with its SEA-Drive electric power system, has now begun volume assembly of SEA Electric-badged trucks in Melbourne, using semi-knock down kits.
Oceania regional director Glen Walker said that the new production process delivers “multiple efficiencies – including from a waste perspective, as many components were previously discarded in the retrofitting process.
“The consistency of assembly also results in a commonality of the parts required and the sort benefits that come from volume manufacture.”
SEA founder and president Tony Fairweather said that the SKD collaboration is “the first of its kind, and has set the benchmark for similar programmes in other SEA Electric markets around the world.”
To celebrate that and the addition of two new models, at Brisbane the company took a big stepup from a one-truck stand two years ago….to a five-truck display that put it on a par with some of the major makes.
Added Walker: “It’s fantastic that the Brisbane Truck Show is back – and we are excited to be able to present our range to the public, now as an OE manufacturer.
“No other company has a lineup of all-electric models with a GVM range of 4.5 through to 22.5 tonnes, especially with the level of performance and reliability which SEA has proven in the field, with millions of kilometres of real-world use.”
The new 4.5t-rated SEA 300-45 EV is, he said, “a true gamechanger in the marketplace, especially following the growth in the past 12 months of last-mile deliveries.”
The challenge, said Walker, had been to package the power system so as to keep tare weight as low as possible, giving the truck a practical load-carrying capacity.
The result: “In cab-chassis form, with strong performance and a range of approximately 250km, we have a tare weight of 2.5t, which results in 2t for the truck’s body and freight, which is an incredibly attractive proposition.”
Also brand-new was the SEA 300-85, rated to 8.5t, with a 138kWh battery and a 1500Nm motor – suiting it to applications including dry or temperature-controlled freight, elevated working platforms or tippers.
The company said that 46 of the SEA 300 and 500 models – built from Hino 300 and Hino 500 Series SKD kits respectively – had been pre-ordered by “some of Australia’s biggest companies and councils.”
The technology in them, it said, “continues to make waves in both North America and Asia.”
JAC – after a failed attempt to successfully launch in NZ and Australia a few years ago – tried again at Brisbane…this time with an electric light-duty model.
Australian importer/distributor BLK Auto was at pains to say that it had “an eye to the future and not the past.”
The focus now, it said, was “on providing an efficient, cost-
effective electric truck alternative in the light-duty sector.”
BLK Auto MD Jason Pecotic (who led the last JAC launch) added that “the future of road transport is electric and rather than dwell in the past, JAC is very much thinking to the future needs and demands of a transport industry that is already starting to demand electric vehicles for city operations.”
To that end it put on show a JAC N55 EV light-duty truck with a 96.7kw/h battery, fully rechargeable in two hours. It is one of two in Australia on trial.
He said that the 4x2, with a 200km range and a 2.5t payload capability, taps into a “deep well of knowledge and expertise” within JAC, which had been building 100% electric trucks (ranging up to 12t models) for seven years – with the current range now four years old.
Said Pecotic: “JAC is throwing everything it can at electrification and is very focused on refining and improving its electric truck offerings and that is why we are focusing purely on battery EV models.”
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Western Star Trucks celebrated the 40th anniversary of the launch of the make in Australia....appropriately, at the 1981 Brisbane Truck Show
Hyundai, which has been making plenty of headlines globally in the past year or so with its Xcient hydrogen fuel cell electric trucks now starting to go to work in Europe, had a relatively lowkey presence at Brisbane.
Hyundai Brisbane dealer East Coast Trucks took a stand and showed three models – headlined not by an Xcient heavy-duty model, but by a new medium-duty Pavise.
A D115 model has a GVM rating of 12-15.5t and a 21-25t GCM, running a 5.9-litre 246hp Euro 5 engine.
A D217 variant has a 17.6t GVM and 27t GCM, using a 276hp rating of the 5.9 litre engine. Both models have a choice of ZF nine-speed manual gearboxes or 12-speed AMTs.
The Pavise models come standard with driver and passenger airbags, lane departure warning, forward collision avoidance, autonomous emergency braking, electronic braking, cruise control and hill start assistance.
Hyundai Trucks Australia’s GM Daryl Thornton spoke of a growing independent distributorship – aiming to expand both its truck range and its dealer network.
“Our numbers and our network are relatively small, but it’s clear this year we are heading in the right direction and are on target to achieve our objectives in 2021.”
The Pavise had a lowkey introduction in Australia late last year, with just four imported, but Thornton said 12 were currently on order.
As for the Xcient prime mover – launched in Australia in 2018, but rated only for single-trailer applications – Thornton said a Euro 6 540hp Xcient Pro model suitable for B-double work is expected before the end of the year.
Australian etruck startup Janus Electric presented its concept to make the conversion of diesel-engined long-haul highway trucks to electric power an attractive proposition for operators.
Its Kenworth T403 show truck is the prototype for an ambitious plan to overcome the range limitations of battery electric heavyduty trucks, simply by using a uniform battery pack that can be quickly swapped at transfer and charging stations along major freight routes.
Janus said that the 2m x 1.2m lithium-ion battery pack, designed to fit into what was the engine bay, will power the tractor unit’s electric drive 400 to 500kms in a typically-loaded B-double unit. Single trailer units might get 600kms.
When the battery runs low, it can be replaced at a charge station with a fully-charged pack in three or four minutes, using a forklift. The truck will then be able to continue its trip, while the station will charge the battery in 12 hours – either using renewable sources such as solar, wind or hydro power….or, at worst, utilising offpeak power from the grid.
The company said its innovative technology is “a gamechanger for the transport industry globally.
GM Lex Forysth said Janus “has solved the scale, price-point and battery technology challenge for conversion to electric.
While the company said the diesel to electric conversion cost is around $AUS85,000 (up to $20,000 of that recoverable from the sale of the engine), it also claimed that its system would cut the cost of running a diesel-engined B-double combination between Sydney and Brisbane from just under $1000 to around $525 to $550.
Although a battery pack costs approximately $AUS120,000, the Janus business model would see the batteries owned by the company and rented to operators on a per-use or per day basis.
At that rate, said Forsyth, the capital cost of electrification will be recouped within a year in a typical Sydney-Brisbane freight operation.
Janus aims to have four electric trucks undergoing further trials before year’s end, with four battery charge and transfer stations established between Brisbane and Sydney. Ultimately, Forsyth added, there will be a national network of them.
Fleet management tech specialist Teletrac Navman had a
Top left: Iveco’s two-cab gravel spreader - the most unusual truck at the show Top right: Chinese make JAC relaunched in Australia with this new electric light-duty model Right: PACCAR Australia MD Andrew Hadjikakou hands over the multi-purpose DAF LF to Naomi Frauenfelder, CEO of Healthy Heads in Trucks and Sheds
different presence at BTS – as a partner with the Australian Trucking Association in the 2021 Driving Change Diversity Programme, which it described as “a groundbreaking initiative to improve industry image, build a stronger workforce and showcase opportunity.”
At the show they announced the programme’s 13 “champions” – 10 women and three men from a diverse range of backgrounds and experiences, from driving trucks to ownership of transport companies, roles in driver training and in management.
ATA chair David Smith said that the trucking industry “plays a crucial role in the lives of all Australians, but it has its challenges. There is a strong need for more drivers and skilled workers in all areas.
“Diversity plays a big role in creating positive workplaces and is proven to develop more inclusive environments, increase productivity and give employers access to a greater range of talent.
“This programme is our way of addressing this issue and broadening the industry talent pool. We are driving change to ensure our industry has the tools to foster inclusive and welcoming environments for people from all backgrounds and expertise,” he said.
The programme’s champions include a wife and mother who is a transport company co-owner, a solo Mum heavy truck driver, an Iranian refugee who now has his own truck as an OD and a driver training supervisor who won Volvo’s Australian fuelefficient driving contest – and became the only woman in the global final.
They also include a cross-section of women in leading admin and management roles and a production manager who was diagnosed with a rare neuro-muscular disease at 17…and said “people have always had difficulty understanding why he is different.”
They will all be showcased through social media to highlight the diverse opportunities on offer in the trucking industry. They will also be hosted at the ATA’s Trucking Australia conference – “for an intensive workshop where they will learn how to create change and facilitate diversity in their workplace and community, share personal insights, and develop clear action items on how to drive change within industry.”
Teletrac Navman director of marketing Australasia, Megan Duncan, said: “While they may not realise it, these champions are already making a big difference in their workplace and communities – shining a light on the amazing opportunities the industry has to offer.
“The programme is about coming together to share our connections and challenges, start a conversation and learn how we can drive change,” she said. T&D
