INTERNATIONAL TRUCK STOP
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LIFE LEFT IN DIESEL Story by Will Shires
Will Shiers searches for combustionengine trucks on the manufacturers’ stands at the UK’s Road Transport Expo.
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he UK has ambitious, and I would argue totally unrealistic, plans to decarbonise road transport. By 2030, we’ll be banning the sale of combustion-engine cars, followed five years later by all commercial vehicles up to 26 tonnes GVW, and everything above it by 2040. Judging by the number of zero-tailpipe-emission trucks on show, ill-informed visitors at this year’s Road Transport Expo (RTX) trade show could
Photos: tomlee.gallery have been tricked into thinking that we’re well on the way to reaching those targets, such was the vast array of battery-powered commercial vehicles on show. In reality, just a few hundred electric trucks have entered service in the UK. While visiting RTX, which took place in late June at Stoneleigh Park NAEC in the heart of England, I called in on all 10 of the truck manufacturers’ stands hoping to find proof that there’s still life left in diesel. For several years, DAF Trucks has been promoting the benefits of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) as a lowcarbon alternative to diesel, and indeed has run its demo fleet on the fuel for a long time. HVO has the potential to reduce CO2 by up to 90%, and in my opinion (along with other synthetic fuels), will ultimately prolong the life
74 New Zealand Trucking August 2023
of the combustion engine. In fact, the manufacturer had refreshingly few batterypowered trucks on its stand, instead devoting most of the space to its New Generation range. The most recent of these are the XD distribution and XDC construction trucks, which were jointly crowned International Truck of the Year (IToY) 2023. At the show, I was joined by five fellow jury members when I handed over the trophy to DAF Trucks UK marketing manager Phil Moon. DAF assembles most of its UK-spec trucks in Leyland, Lancashire, and despite being a US-owned Dutch company, is widely considered by many to be the closest thing the country has to a British truck manufacturer. This helps to explain DAF’s 30%-plus market share and 28 years of UK market leadership. Daimler Trucks chose
RTX for the UK premiere of no less than three different vehicles. Taking pride of place on its outdoor stand was a Mercedes-Benz eEconic 300 refuse truck, while inside the halls, it debuted its New Generation FUSO eCanter. That said, my pick of three launches was the MercedesBenz Actros Edition 3. The manufacturer anticipates selling just 20 of these 630hp flagship tractors in the UK. It was located on the Kuda Automotive stand, the customising and accessory specialist having fitted the top-spec truck with side skirts, a full-size catwalk, TV, microwave and CabStore lockers on the rear cab wall. There was no escaping battery-powered trucks at Electra, seeing as that’s all the company offers. Based in the northwest of England, it produces a range of battery
