‘Hydrogen the answer’, says Tuffnells chairman

By Tim Wallace Michael Holt (pictured), chairman of Sheffield-based parcels firm Tuffnells, has backed hydrogen as the future fuel for long-haul fleets.

“We’re of the view, along with a number of others from the heavier side of the parcel industry, that hydrogen is probably the way forward, certainly for 7.5-tonners,” he told MT.

“The only downside is that it’s not produced in the UK. But our technical director believes that by 2030 there’ll be a huge leap forward. We’ve talked to a lot of the big logistics players and hydrogen seems to be the answer.

Fresh focus on HGV blind spots

A campaign to educate the public about the number of HGV blind spots professional drivers have to contend with has been launched after research showed more than a third were unaware.

National Highways (NH) said car and van drivers can underestimate the limitations HGV drivers face in seeing passing vehicles.

A survey found that while nearly three quarters of people said they take extra care when overtaking a HGV, 36% said they did not know how many blind spots a HGV had.

The same number also admitted feeling nervous when passing trucks.

“You might just lose a bit on the pence per mile, but you don’t have to rely on huge batteries and you’re not going to drain the National Grid.”

He added that a recent boardroom shake-up had introduced a fresh company vision. “We want a board looking forward rather than seeing it as being Tuffnells versus DX,” he explained.

Tuffnells’ key focus now, he said, was to generate new business. The company is aiming for a turnover of £180m this year and £4m to £5m profit.

“We’re profitable this year, but that’s new business,” he said. “The aim is to make £8m profit in 2024, then invest in a control room and new sites. I’ve got another £10m of investment planned for 2024.”

UK registrations of Renault Trucks HGVs leapt by 18.4% last year, nearly double the UK average market increase of 9.6%, according to the manufacturer’s latest results.

Renault Trucks also delivered strong growth in the UK light commercial vehicle market in the year, with deliveries up by 22% to 3,108 vehicles. Overall the manufacturer saw European deliveries of its trucks up by 15% to 58,967 deliveries.

In the over 16-tonne segment, it saw its registrations rise in 19 European countries, with a total market share of 9.4%, up 0.6 points.

However in the 6- to 16-tonne segment, the manufacturer lost 0.3 points of share, closing at 7%.