Transport & Trucking Australia Issue 135

www.truckandbus.net.au Issue 135 2020

WE TALK TO VGA BOSS MARTIN MERRICK

ISSN 2206-1495

9 772206 149012 >

35

IVECO’S NEW EURO 6 DAILY HINO GT 4X4 ROAD TEST DUAL OF THE PACIFIC HWY CHEVY’S MIGHTY SILVERADO

$9.50 incl. GST

Bigger payloads.

Brought to you

by Isuzu.

*According to T-Mark industry statistics. FSA/ISZ12791

There’s a simple reason that around one in four trucks on Australia’s roads is an Isuzu*. It’s because they deliver legendary reliability. And that’s why so many businesses trust them to deliver their cargo day-in, day-out, every day of the year.

To find the right Isuzu for you, visit isuzu.com.au

CONTENTS CONTACT DETAILS

FEATURES

PO Box 7046 Warringah Mall NSW 2100

14 A HARD RIDE

For Volvo Group Australia boss Martin Merrick, his time in the local saddle has been anything but a rails run.

We sat down with Martin Merrick for a wide ranging interview to discuss his tenure so far and what is ahead for the Volvo Group downunder.

www.truckandbus.net.au admin@truckandbus.net.au Enquiries 02 9938 6408

20 THE DAILY NEWS

An increasing pressure on manufacturers to be more environmentally conscious has driven a number of makers to introduce Euro 6 in commercial vehicles in Australia, despite the fact that it is yet to be mandated.

In fact there is no clear indication when Euro 6 will be mandated here, Iveco is a maker that has embraced Euro 6 in its upper end trucks and now in its best-selling product, the light commercial Daily range. We take a look at the new Daily and see how it measures up.

Follow us on Twitter #truckandbusnews Follow us on Facebook at Truck and Bus Australia

Publisher Jon Thomson admin@truckandbus.net.au

26 DUAL OF THE PACIFIC

Despite a coroners recommendation back in 1990, following two devasting bus crashes, that the Pacific Highway should be rebuilt as a dual carriageway road it took more than three decades to fulfill the Coroner’s wishes. Now finally the Pacific Motorway is complete and T&TA takes a look at the benefits the motorway will deliver and what 30 years of delays has cost us.

32 UP ON ALL FOURS

Off road 4x4 trucks, the staple of many a bush fire brigade have never offered too much of a driving experience. However Hino’s upgraded 500 Series GT1528 has changed all that. We took it for a spin, both on and off road and took it back with a smile on our faces.

Editor in Chief Jon Thomson Art Director Fiona Meadows fiona@kududesign.com.au Advertising Sales Jon Thomson Mobile 0418 641 959 admin@truckandbus.net.au Editorial Contributors Barry Flanagan, Mark Bean, Warren Caves, Peter Barnwell

38 TEACH THEM WELL

At just 20 years of age, Paul Cotterill was bitten by the trucking bug and began learning on-the-job how to drive trucks. In his 50s, and with a 34-year career behind him, he realised a passion for teaching people how to drive heavy trucks, and to steal a line from Crosby, Stills and Nash, ‘Teach them Well’. We take a look at Coachbiz and Paul Cotterill’s truck driving teaching philosophy

44 NOT JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS

Comdain Infrastructure has the job of maintaining and repairing Sydney Water’s vast sewer network and it does that with a fleet that comprises of mostly Hino Trucks, we dropped in to have a look at it truck fleet and the work they do to keep the poo in the pipes!

50 SILVERADO STRIKES GOLD

There is probably a reason why our cousins in the US call vehicles with a tray behind the cabin trucks, and not utes as we do. That is probably because, unlike our utes, their pickups are mighty big and are trucks in reality. We sampled Chevrolet’s best selling model, the Silverado recently and really loved this big landship.

56 LOVE ‘DAT VAN

The arrival of the Deliver 9 takes the Chinese build LDV brand into a whole new van sector, up against the market heavyweights such as the Mercedes Benz Sprinter, Renault’s Master, Fiat’s Ducato, the Ford Transit and the VW Crafter. We lived with the LDV for a week and we came away impressed.

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60 LET’S HAVE A FIESTA

Another week another new three cylinder hot hatch, or that is what it seems like, with just about every major auto maker switching their small cars to a tri cylinder layout and boy what a performance revelation they are proving to be. We slipped behind the wheel of the pocket rocket Ford Fiesta ST for an exciting little road test.

14

20

DEPARTMENTS 04 BACK TRACKS

Musings from the Editor

06 HIGHWAY 1

News and info from all over

64 MONEY

Paul’s latest advice on finances

BUILT TO DRIVE. READY FOR ANYTHING. THAT’S ANOTHER HINO

NEW HINO 300 SERIES. AUSTRALIA’S MOST POWERFUL JAPANESE LIGHT-DUTY TRUCKS. XAVIER_HINO37592.3/D

Are you ready for class-leading power, safety and efficiency? Ready to enjoy benchmark levels of on-road performance

and enhanced levels of interior ergonomics, cab comfort and innovative technology? Then the new 300 Series is the truck you’ve been waiting for. With an expanded model line-up, the new 721 models joins the popular 921 models and delivers

class-leading combination of power and torque courtesy of the high horsepower Hino J05 engine. With a Gross Vehicle

Mass of 6.5 tonnes, a higher towing capacity and a true automatic transmission, you can even drive them on a car licence.

The new Hino 300 Series. Find out more at hino.com.au.

PHEW, AREN’T WE GLAD THAT IS OVER?

I

am sure no one was sad to see 2020 finish and a New Year start, after what was the most difficult and challenging of years we’ve ever experienced.

For all of that the truck industry has come out of 2020 with a degree of strength and resilience, certainly a lot more than many could have imagined when the pandemic hit with such ferocity back in March.

In fact the market bounced back strongly in June, largely on the back of the end of financial year tax write off incentives offered by the government.

But the lift in truck sales continued on through to the end of 2020 and even into the New Year, with January sales showing a buoyancy that defied expectations. In fact for the three dominant Japanese players , Isuzu, Hino and Fuso, it saw them all sell more trucks in January 2021 than they did in January 2018, which you may recall, was an all-time record year for Australian truck sales.

That lift for the volume sellers was also partly pushed by the rise in internet shopping and home deliveries that just seemed to explode in the pandemic.

This saw the big supermarket chains scrambling to keep up with demand and equally the online selling channels. The result was they all needed more trucks to cope with the delivery demand and light and medium duty trucks that fulfill that requirement, who would have thunk it ?

By nature most Aussies are reasonably optimistic, but there is always a streak of the ‘We’ll all be ruined, said Hanrahan’, permeating our brains and culture. Given the year we have just had you can sort of understand that coming into play.

You hear people worried about what is going to happen when the Job Keeper scheme comes to an end in March, will the vaccines work and what if there is a another wave? They’re all valid fears, but the thing that seems to be the most pleasing is that people want to get on with it and use the pandemic to change some things for the better.

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For the truck industry the reality is that whether people are working from home or the office, whether they are shopping in the supermarket or online, or if they are moving to regional areas or building a new house, then trucks are the essential element in all of that.

Speak with most of the truck manufacturers, particularly the Japanese and there is strong demand with forward orders running well into the back half of 2021, which should bolster our confidence.

In those early days of the pandemic no one had any idea how things would pan out, how long we would be locked down, how many would die, and whether our hospitals would be overwhelmed?

That may have been the case in other countries, but here in Australia we have been very fortunate and apart from some flourishes here and there, our casualties have been minimal, lock downs have been spasmodic and generally in specific areas or states, our hospitals were not overwhelmed and many aspects of business have not only returned to normal but are recording strong sales growth.

Early on someone said the best strategy is to ‘plan for the worst but hope for the best’, and I reckon that pretty well sums up how we have handled it here in Australia and why we have coped better than most.

It’s not blind optimism, it is informed by knowing the risks, listening to the experts and planning for the worst scenarios, but being positive enough to be optimistic about how those steps would work out.

So let’s keep planning for the worst and hoping for the best, let’s keep buying trucks and keeping the country moving and keeping people safe.

At the very least trucks are going to be a key component in the incredible logistical operation to distribute the vaccines that will better help us fight and hopefully overcome this devastating pandemic, and that can’t be a bad thing.

So with that note of optimism in this issue we have some great stories looking at

a range of themes across the truck industry.

First up we have an extended chat with Volvo Group Australia boss, Martin Merrick, who has had a challenging couple of years at helm of the Australian branch of the Swedish truck making giant, but continues with an optimistic outlook on the future of Volvo and its other brands down under.

We also have an in depth look at the completion of the Pacific Motorway and the awful statistics that accompanied the decades of carnage on what was once a road that was woefully inadequate for the task. The procrastination in making it a dual carriageway motorway cost Australia in the enormous number of lives that were lost, and the huge inefficiency it forced on our transport system for decades. But now thankfully it is complete.

In terms of product stories we look closely at the Hino 500 series GT 4x4, we reveal the new Euro 6 Iveco Daily, there are some operator stories and we road test the massive Chevrolet Silverado as well as LDV’s new Delivery 9 large van.

So remember, plan for the worst hope for the best and in the meantime enjoy the read.

Stay safe, take it easy and we will see you next time.

JON THOMSON

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2021 TRUCK SALES OFF TO A

E GLOBE

FLYER / DAIMLER ELECTR IC DRIVETRAIN / NEW VIT O VAN / DAIMER FLOATS TR UCK BUSINESS

BOUYANT START TO 2021 TRUCK SALES POINT TO POTENTIAL STRONG YEAR AHEAD THE AUSTRALIAN commercial vehicle market has had a strong and buoyant start to the new year with the overall market up 12.6 per cent in January compared with the same month last year, with the three big Japanese makers all registering significant gains on their results last January.

sales charts. Isuzu sold exactly 500 trucks for the month to take exactly a quarter of the overall market with a 25 per cent share.

Perpetual runner up, Hino could still be pleased with its January result, moving 368 trucks to take 16.4 per cent market share, which compares

a big win over its rival Volvo, and as such didn’t have a lot of stock left for a full on assault in January.

Volvo took second in Heavy Duty for the month and coincidentally it was up exactly five units on its January 2020 totals, matching Kenworth’s drop. Volvo recorded 93 sales while

Total sales of trucks and vans over 3.5 tonnes was just shy of 2000 for

with 211 trucks in January 2020 when it only held 11.8 per cent share.

Isuzu was third in the sector with 81 heavies, down seven units on its 2020

the month of January, compared with 1852 total sales in January last year.

Interestingly Isuzu, Hino and Fuso each sold more trucks last month than they did in the January of the all-time record year of 2018.

The only sector to be down on sales

Similarly Fuso had another good month despite again taking the final step on the podium. The Daimler owned Japanese brand sold 268 trucks for 12.8 per cent share, up from the 188 trucks it sold in the same month last year when it held

The biggest gains in Heavy duty were for Mercedes Benz with 70 deliveries for the month, almost double the result for the same month last year when it sold 38 units. This gave Benz fourth in the sector, while its fellow Daimler

results from last January was Medium

10.2 per cent market share.

Duty, while Heavy Duty was ahead slightly and Light Duty was the stellar performer recording a 42.9 per cent

In the all-important and prestigious Heavy sector, Kenworth was down, albeit by just five trucks, on its

gain on its performance in January

January 2020, but still led the sector

last year, largely on the back of the ongoing strong demand for home delivery vehicles.

Isuzu was again the overall market

with 112 units. This contrasts with the massive 326 unit haul it bagged in December. The January result leads us to believe that the Paccar team

leader, kicking off its quest for a

may have pulled a lot of sales forward

33 for the month, Mack was down from

33rd consecutive year leading the

in the last month of 2020 to ensure

35 to 23 units and DAF dropped from 23 to just 9 units January on January.

January result.

brand, Freightliner, was fifth with 34 units, marking what could be the first

Isuzu registered 276 units for the month, a rise of 80 trucks on January last year, although the brand dropped light duty market share, albeit just 0.5 per cent on the same month.

Hino sold 172 trucks in January, up 77 units on its result this time last year and at the same time its light duty share jumped five points, up from 18.6 to 23.6 percent. Similarly Fuso also posted a stellar result with 160 light duty sales up from 92 in

to have some affect on the sales, after

January last year.

Mercedes Benz was impressive

Covid delays through 2020.

There were some big sales drops for

selling 44 of its Sprinter based truck versions to be fourth overall with a

Scania, DAF and Mack compared with January last year. Scania numbers were almost halved, down from 61 to

product we have long said presents an attractive alternative to the less

signs it’s Cascadia model is starting

Medium duty, as previously mentioned, was the only sector to be down, with sales for January this year down 15.8 per cent on January 2020.

The big three were all down, Isuzu dropping 41 units, Hino off 28 and Fuso down 10 units.

The boom in light duty was partly on the back of home delivery demand and also partly on the back of residual

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deliveries of trucks ordered in 2020 as part of the capital equipment tax incentives.

Whatever it was, clearly had an affect with the sector up 42.9 per cent for comparable months, obviously answering a strong demand.

comfortable ride and dynamics of the Japanese cab-over light duty machines.

Mercedes Benz also had a good result in vans topping the sector with 97 sales ahead of Ford Transit, which improved markedly with 87 sales for the month.

Most makers, particularly the Japanese, are reporting strong order banks running deep into 2021, which may indicate a strong bounce back this year after the blips that happened in 2020.

DTNA ANNOUNCES ELECTRIC POWERTRAIN AND MULTI MILLION INVESTMENT IN MANUFACTURING DAIMLER TRUCKS North America has announced a new proprietary

“By utilising our Detroit ePowertrain

commercial vehicle applications.

The single motor design is rated at 180 horsepower, delivering

customers for over four decades,” said Rakesh Aneja, head of eMobility at DTNA. “An integrated ePowertrain from

electric drive train which it is calling the ‘Detroit ePowertrain’ which

to power the Freightliner eCascadia and eM2, we are giving Freightliner buyers the same level of confidence

it says will be used to power the upcoming Freightliner eCascadia and

that comes with our conventionallypowered portfolio, known throughout

Freightliner eM2.

The new ePowertrain is part of Daimler

the industry as having the best total cost of ownership – bar none,”

Trucks’ global platform strategy to establish a uniform basic architecture

said Richard Howard, senior vice president sales and marketing, on-

for their broad line-up of batteryelectric vehicles around the globe.

highway segment, DTNA. “Nowhere else can buyers find the

Its use in North America brings the company what it describes as ‘unprecedented global synergies and economies of scale for CO2-neutral

level of performance, support, quality, dedication to uptime, and engineering expertise as with our Detroit product portfolio. Our investment in Detroit - and in the city of the same name harkens a new era for a storied name in the global automotive landscape,” Howard added.

version, a 315 kWh version, and a 475 kWh version.

Battery packs are comprised of arrays of lithium-Ion prismatic cells. In Detroit’s first ePowertrain offerings, the maximum range specifications will exceed 230 miles on a full charge for the medium-duty eM2 and 250 miles for the Class 8

an integral part in the future growth of both Detroit and eMobility by providing sales, support and service for the ever-expanding portfolio of Detroit engines, transmissions, axles, safety and connectivity technologies,

Initially, the Detroit ePowertrain will offer an eAxle design operating

eCascadia prime mover.

“The combination of Freightliner

production of the Detroit ePowertrain

at 400 volts and be offered in two variants suitable for a variety of

and Detroit has been delivering an incredible experience to our valued

commercial vehicles’.

Also included in the company’s announcement are plans for a $AUD 26 million ($US 20 million) investment in the Detroit manufacturing facility, which will serve as the North American source for Detroit ePowertrain components.

maximum torque of up to 11,500 lb-ft of torque, while the dual motor design offers up to 360 horsepower and 23,000 lb-ft of torque.

The Detroit ePowertrain will be mated to the choice of three battery offerings for the eCascadia and eM2, including a 210 kilowatt hour (kWh)

Detroit respects that legacy and moves us into a new era for the industry by improving operational efficiency while simultaneously eliminating tailpipe emissions,” he added.

DTNA says its strong Freightliner dealer network will continue to play

and, now, ePowertrain systems and battery packs.

The company says that initial is expected to begin in late 2021.

The start of production for both Freightliner models begins in 2022.

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2021 TRUCK SALES OFF TO A FLYER / DAIMLER ELECTR IC DRIVETRAIN / NEW VITO VAN / DAIMER FLOATS TRU CK BUSINESS

MERCEDES BENZ UPDATES VITO VAN RANGE MERCEDES-BENZ has announced a substantial facelift and update for its Vito van range as it faces stronger competition from other vans in the sector.

The updated Vito features six models from the 111 CDI to the range topping Valente people mover and came just over a week before Volkswagen unveiled an updated Transporter range.

The Vito’s new safety features include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) and active cruise control. It also gets an enhanced interior, an improved reversing camera, a digital rear-view mirror which shows vision on an LCD screen.

The Intelligent Light System ILS is also available for the new Vito as an alternative to the halogen headlamps.

The Intelligent Light System with Highbeam Assist Plus is now standard on the 119 model.

The complete package encompasses LED turn signal lamps, LED daytime running lights and LED dipped beam, main beam and cornering light. The headlamps have a variable light distribution which changes to suit the vehicle speed and the prevailing conditions when driving on motorways and on rural roads. The Intelligent Light System is extended with the Highbeam Assist PLUS. It reacts adaptively to the visibility conditions and adjusts the light distribution and range to the respective traffic situation; it does this by actuating the dipped-beam, partial main-beam and main-beam headlamps as required.

The updated Vitos are on sale now

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featuring revised front styling, more safety and assistance systems, a revised infotainment system and a simplified model range.

Although new European Vitos are being powered by a new Euro 6 power plant, Aussie Vito buyers get the carryover engine from the superceded model because the is no statutory requirement for the cleaner, newer engine.

The engine and transmission line up sees the 1.6-litre 84kW/270Nm OM622 engine fitted to the entry level Vito 111 CDI front wheel drive with a six-speed manual transmission, while all other rear wheel drive variants use the proven 2.1-litre OM651 engine, mated to the 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic.

As part of the rationalisation of models and to reduce complexity across the OM651 engine line up, the former Vito 114 CDI 100kw/330Nm model has been dropped, making the more powerful 120kW/380Nm Vito 116 CDI the dominant engine choice across the range.

The former 114 short wheelbase model was the Vito range entry point but this has changed with the medium wheel base now the starting point for the 116 line up, which Benz says will optimise the carrying capacity on offer to better meet the demands of buyers.

The Vito Crew Cab which can carry a team of up to six people is available with the 116 or 119 CDI engine and the Valente 8 seater people mover, is available with the 116 CDI engine.

Managing director of Mercedes-Benz

Vans, Diane Tarr said the versatility of Vito sets it apart with Australian examples used for everything from home and roadside assist vehicles, to Australian Post delivery vans, as Optus technical service vehicles and as a trusted tool for many smaller business operations like florists or even mobile fitness instructors.

“It is a genuine trade specialist and fleet all-rounder for a wide range of different customers,” said Dianne Tarr.

“The Vito’s look and style is often symbolic of the business it supports, the newly designed radiator grill now makes it an even more attractive representation, and with more standard safety, new assistance systems and an upgraded infotainment offering, it will continue to meet the demands of our customers,” she said.

The newer Euro 6 OM654 engines available in Europe are said to be up to 13 per cent more efficient than the OM651 engine that is being carried over here, but Benz justifies the carryover engine by saying it enables the range to be more price competitive and simpler for technicians who will not need to be retrained for the new engine, just yet.

Benz says that eventually the new engine will be introduced but for the time being it will be the proven older engines only.

One interesting new option on the Vito will be Airmatic air suspension, which can raise or lower the van ride height via a button, smoothing out the ride

and making loading easier potentially.

Unfortunately the new Vito doesn’t get the excellent Mercedes Benz ‘family’ MBUX infotainment system that originated in Mercedes’ cars and is even used now in the larger Sprinter van and also in Mercedes Benz heavy trucks.

Instead the new Vito gets the Audio 30 infotainment system with a 7-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay/ Android Auto and integrated sat-nav as well as a new sharper 180-degree reversing camera, and Bluetooth interface with audio streaming and a USB interfaces for charging devices.

Buyers can choose from a host of new options including an expanded colour choice with metallic finishes extended plus hyacinth red metallic from Mercedes-Benz passenger cars steel blue.

There is also a range of new alloy wheels including: two 18-inch lightalloy rims – one with a 5-twin-spoke design in tremolite grey and one with a 5-spoke design in black along with a, 17-inch light-alloy wheel which also offers improved aerodynamics.

With an extensive list of variants and options Mercedes was understandably reticent to quote drive away pricing but. the manufacturers recommended list pricing for the entry level Vito 111start at $42,900 ranging up to $65,800 for the luxury Valente eight seat people mover.

We hope to have a full road test in coming weeks.

WE A L L

S H A R E A V I S I O N A T A

V O L V O U

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From CEO to technician, our passionate Australian team of over 1200 people is united by a shared goal to help create a better future. Built on a history of hard work and tenacity, we believe in a modern Australia that is inclusive, diverse and has the confidence to combine a global viewpoint with local insight. So next time you’re choosing a business partner, look a little closer and choose the company that’s helping drive Australia forward.

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DAIMLER TO SPLIT OFF TRUCK AND BUS OPERATIONS IN MAJOR CORPORATE SHAKE-UP THE WORLD’S BIGGEST truck maker, Daimler will become a stand-alone independent company following the announcement by the Daimler AG board overnight, that it has decided to split the truck maker away from the car and van company, with the two new entities to have different identities.

The car and van business will be known as Mercedes Benz cars and vans while the truck and bus business will be called Daimler Trucks.

Daimler made the announcement in Germany saying that it will make “major changes in its structure”, which it adds are “designed to unlock the full potential of its businesses in a zero-emissions, software-driven future”.

The Daimler Boards announced that they have agreed to look at a spinoff of its Truck and Bus business and to commence preparations for a separate listing of Daimler Truck.

The statement from Daimler is not a surprise and has been signalled by the specialist business press including Bloomberg in recent times.

The Board says it intends a “significant majority stake” in Daimler Truck will be distributed to Daimler shareholders, and that the Daimler Truck business will have a fully independent management, stand-alone corporate governance, an independent chairman, and will qualify for listing on the German DAX. The transaction and the listing of Daimler Truck on the Frankfurt stock

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exchange is expected to be complete before the end of 2021.

At the same time the board announced that it is Daimler’s intention to rename itself as Mercedes-Benz at “the appropriate time”.

The board says this will result in a “simplification of the Daimler structure into two strong and independent companies”.

“This is an historic moment for Daimler. It represents the start of a profound reshaping of the company.

Mercedes-Benz Cars and Vans and Daimler Trucks and Buses are different businesses with specific customer groups, technology paths and capital needs,” the statement said chairman of the board of management of Daimler and

management and governance will allow them to operate even faster, invest more ambitiously, target growth and cooperation, and thus be significantly more agile and competitive,” added Källenius.

The current Daimler Truck chairman, Martin Daum said that the company intends to generate value for its shareholders by accelerating the execution of its strategic plans, raising its profitability and driving forward with its development of emissions-free technologies for trucks and buses.

“This is a pivotal moment for Daimler Truck. With independence comes greater opportunity, greater visibility and transparency,’ said Martin Daum.

“We will grow further and continue our leadership in alternative

“We have clear strategies to raise our financial performance and accelerate our execution. We will use our strong and well-known global brands, our scale and our exceptional technology to deliver industry-leading returns,” the chairman added.

As the World’s largest truck and bus company Daimler generated revenue of $AUD70.8 billion (€44.9billion) in 2019 producing a bit over 488,000 trucks and buses, with the majority or $AUD40.2 billion revenue (€40.2billion) coming from trucks and $AUD7.41billion (€4.7billion) from bus.

The news that Daimler intends to float Daimler Truck as an IPO, comes almost two year after Volkswagen

“Mercedes-Benz is the world’s most valuable luxury car brand, offering the most desirable cars to discerning

powertrains and automation. We

floated its truck arm Traton.

Chairman of the supervisory board of Daimler, Manfred Bischoff, sees

have already defined the future of our business with battery-electric

the planned market listing as an important step to create value.

customers. Daimler Truck supplies industry leading transportation

and fuel-cell trucks, as well as strong positions in autonomous driving.

“Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Truck enter this transformation with

solutions and services to customers.

“Both companies operate in industries that are facing major

“With targeted partnerships we will accelerate the development of key technologies to bring best-in-class

significant strengths and we are convinced they will emerge even

technological and structural changes.

products to our customers rapidly,”

“Given this context, we believe they will be able to operate most effectively

Daum added.

“Daimler Truck already has a solid financial basis, and our business

Mercedes-Benz Ola Källenius.

as independent entities, equipped with strong net liquidity and free from the constraints of a conglomerate structure,” Källenius said.

“We have confidence in the financial and operational strength of our two vehicle divisions. And we are convinced that independent

model is robust. We will continue to work on our cash flow management and we know how to deal with industry market cycles – we have

stronger as independent companies, serving their respective customers,” said Bischoff.

“With their different return profiles and capital needs, the rationale for two independent entities is evident. We are convinced that the capital markets will appreciate the

proven that again in the significant COVID-related global market

opportunity to invest in more clearly focused, pure-play businesses,” he said.

reduction,” he said.

“The final decision on the spin-off

has to be made by an extra-ordinary shareholder meeting of Daimler,

could be valued at about $AUD45 billion (€29 billion).

which is planned to take place in Q3 2021.“

Despite the challenges of Covid the listing may come at a good time

The deal has the approval of Daimler’s important General Works

given reports that truck orders and profits are on the rise globally.

Council, a major part of large German corporations that gives employees a

Volvo reported surging orders along with a better than expected

say at board level.

The intended structure of the

quarterly profit and added that transport and construction activity

transaction would involve Daimler transferring the majority of Daimler Truck to its shareholders on a

has fully recovered in most markets, improving customer confidence.

pro rata basis in accordance with existing shareholdings, but it intends to retain a minority shareholding.

The statement says that all further details of the spin-off will be presented to the shareholders at an extra-ordinary shareholder meeting scheduled for Q3 2021, where it intends to obtain the mandatory approval to the plan.

The offering is likely to see one of the largest German share sales ever and would build on Daimler’s adoption of the new corporate structure giving more independence to its main divisions.

Investors have urged Daimler for a number of years to go a step further and consider a separate listing of the trucks operation.

Daimler shares rose 2.8 per cent up to $AUD96 (€60.92) shortly after the start of regular trading in Frankfurt shortly after the announcement, following a rise of around 17 per cent across 2020.

Analysts say that Daimler’s truck unit

The Swedish company also boosted its forecast for Europe and North America’s heavy-duty vehicle sales this year by a combined 90,000 units.

However the counter to this optimism is that Volkswagen’s Traton IPO in 2019 raised around $AUD2.8billion (€1.8 billion ) for 11.5 per cent of

IVECO ANNOUNCES TWO KEY EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS IVECO HAS ANNOUNCED TWO KEY EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS IN NETWORK DEVELOPMENT AND SALES THAT IT SAYS ARE ‘DESIGNED TO STRENGTHEN BOTH DEALER NETWORK AND THE LEVELS OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OFFERED’.

the business, which valued Traton in total at around $AUD24 billion (€15.2 billion) at the time . A bit over 18 months later Traton ‘s market capitalisation is now down to $AUD18.2 billion (€11.5 billion) .

Traton sealed a deal late last year to acquire US truck maker Navistar for around $AUD 4.84 billion, in a move to give Traton a footing to challenge Daimler and Volvo in North America, which is the truck industry’s biggest source of profits globally.

It is clear the gathering of the three major European truck makers in an increasingly tough battle for global truck market dominance has only just begun and Daimler’s latest moves promise to spice up the fight.

THE COMPANY has announced it has appointed Ella Letiagina to the role of head of network development, while Glen Dyer will take the reins heading truck and van sales through the expansive Iveco network.

Ella Letiagina brings a wealth of automotive and management experience, both locally and abroad to her new role at Iveco, having held senior leadership positions with both Mitsubishi and the Volkswagen Group. She will have responsibility for network performance and together with Iveco’s fieldbased teams, and the company says she will oversee the development of new initiatives to strengthen the Iveco network and will ensure customer satisfaction is the major focus.

Glen Dyer joins Iveco from Mercedes-Benz where he held a variety of senior management roles in their Commercial Vehicle sales and financial services divisions, developing total truck solutions and most recently as head of dealer sales for Mercedes-Benz Vans. With extensive dealer sales and fleet operations experience across both trucks and vans. He will be focused on supporting the growth of the Iveco brand and the network’s sales.

Iveco Australia and New Zealand managing director, Michael May, said, the company is transforming itself in the region, and strong partnerships with both the dealer network and its customers are a critical component of that transformation.

“Iveco continues to the hit mark and build momentum with operators who look further to access European performance, comfort and safety at a competitive price-point in the market,” said Michael May. “We’re excited to welcome to the Iveco team two experienced and well credentialed leaders in Ella and Glen, and I’m confident both will make a valuable contribution to the growth ambitions of our Iveco business,” May added “Ella and Glen join Iveco at an exciting time with its revitalised Medium Duty

Daimler Truck chairman, Martin Daum (far right) when he was in Australia for the Freightliner Cascadia launch in 2019

Eurocargo and Heavy Duty X-Way line-up as well as the recent introduction of the new Light Duty Daily range. Further key product actions are planned for 2021,” he added.

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VIEWS FROM ACROSS THE

GLOBE

2021 TRUCK SALES OFF TO A FLYER / DAIMLER ELECTR IC DRIVETRAIN / NEW VITO VAN / DAIMER FLOATS TRU CK BUSINESS

ISUZU RECOGNISES TOP DEALERS ISUZU HAS ANNOUNCED its annual ‘Excellence’ awards recognising the

Dealer ‘Excellence’.

The statement from Isuzu says

outstanding contribution of its top performing dealerships during 2020

the success of our top performing

that operating under COVID-19 restrictions for the greater part of the

Gippsland Truck Centre in Victoria, and Tracserv and Canberra Isuzu in NSW. Isuzu’s director and CEO, Andrew Harbison said the large national

with nine of the brand’s dealers being announced as winners.

year and facing an uncertain truck sales market, Isuzu’s national dealer

dealer network had a critical role in maintaining Isuzu’s high standards.

maintained position as truck market leader in 2020 and even grew our

Isuzu say its dealer recognition program evaluates overall yearly

network kept their head down while working to keep loyal customers out

“The yearly Dealer Excellence Program is an important initiative

share across segments in the market – and we acknowledge the large role

on the road.

that encourages dealers to exceed expectations. It is just one of the ways

our dealers had in securing this.

“We’re delighted to award these

we ensure Isuzu customers get the very best customer service, aftersales

honours to our Top Nine and congratulate the broader dealer

support and truck expertise.

“Coming out of a year like 2020, it’s even more important to celebrate

network in their commitment to promoting excellence in the field,” said Andrew Harbison.

performance, looking at all areas, including sales, customer satisfaction, staff training, business management, and service and parts.

The company says it dealerships that rise to the top across these categories are awarded the badge of Isuzu

The nine dealers announced as winners of the Isuzu IAL the 2020 Dealer Excellence Winners included North East Isuzu in SA, Major Motors in WA, Gold Coast Isuzu in Queensland, Westar Truck Centre, Ballarat Isuzu and

dealerships.

“There have been tough conditions to wade through, but Isuzu Trucks

ISUZU SET TO USE CUMMINS IN HIGHER HORSEPOWER MODELS ONE OF THE worst kept secrets in the global truck business looks to be coming into clear view, with Isuzu

expenses for Isuzu each year.

It comes as vehicle makers around the world are scrambling to not

higher horsepower medium and heavy duty trucks with the first Cummins

Motors set to outsource diesel truck

only develop powerplants that meet

roads later this year, ahead of their

developing large engines for trucks and construction vehicles.

The partnership has been active

engines to US truck powerplant and drivetrain specialist, Cummins, a move which is believed to be aimed

increasingly stringent emissions standards but also to develop all new zero emission drive trains, including

release in Japan and other markets.

for almost two years, with the two

at allowing the Japanese truck maker to focus on emerging technologies,

Hydrogen fuel cell electric and battery electric power.

Stringent new vehicle emission rules in the USA, which the new Biden administration has indicated it will

companies starting cooperation in 2019 to work on next-generation, low-emissions engines, with the latest

according to Japanese financial news source, Nikkei.

This will be the first time Isuzu has used third-party engines in its truck

enforce, has created headaches for other truck makers as well. Hino

initiative representing an expansion of the partnership to cover existing

The deal is set to begin later this year and will help save tens of millions of

models.

It is understood that the Cummins

announced in late December, that it has shutdown new truck production

diesel engines.

Isuzu sold a total of 290,000 trucks

dollars in research and development

powerplants will be deployed in Isuzu’s

and sales in the USA until at least October this year, due to being unable

globally in the year to the end of March 2020.

to meet the emission standards The Cummins engine will be tuned for each market to meet local regulations

Isuzu has also entered co-operation agreements with other automotive groups for new technology

and requirements and it is understood

development including Volvo Group,

Isuzu will take responsibility for the spec and tuning in each market.

It is believed the other side of the

which it purchased the UD brand from, and with whom it will work on fuel cell and electric drive tech

partnership will see Isuzu supply

with and also Honda with whom it is

Cummins with its own engines for small trucks for other makers ,

working on developing autonomous drive technology.

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powered Isuzus expected to hit American

while the US company focuses on

VOLKSWAGEN REBOOTS TRANSPORTER WITH VERSION 6.1 VOLKSWAGEN HAS RELEASED A NEW AND SIGNIFICANTLY UPGRADED VERSION OF ITS POPULAR TRANSPORT T6, WHICH IT HAS DUBBED THE ‘6.1’ GENERATION, WITH AN ARRAY OF UPDATED EQUIPMENT AND NEW VARIANTS, INCLUDING THE RETURN OF A FACTORY BUILT CAMPER MODEL. The work horses of the range, the ‘panel’ van Transporters feature painted steel floors and interior side linings, with tie down points and a standard left hand sliding door and rear lift up door. A right hand sliding door is optional as is rear barn or wing doors. The other ‘workers’ in the range are the cab-chassis models that are THE COMPANY says it is the most significant upgrade for the Transporter range since the launch of the Transporter T5 back in the early 2000s with features such as an performance and steering advances, an entirely new dash and a plethora of safety upgrades.

The Transporter ‘6.1’ receives an array of added standard safety and convenience technology as standard, includingFront Assist with City Emergency Brake (CEB), Crosswind Assist, Side Assist including blind spot monitoring and Rear Traffic Alert, Multicollision brake and, in some models, a fantastic new digital cockpit akin to what the aviation industry calls a ‘glass cockpit’.

The new range also gets an interface with both Apple Carplay and Android Auto which adds a higher degree of convenience and puts it on a par with other new passenger and commercials.

Truck and Bus News had a brief drive at the national media launch in Sydney recently, slipping behind the wheel of the latest Crewvan with a load strapped down behind a single row of rear passenger seats, as well as getting the chance to drive the new Multivan Cruise limited edition passenger van, and also the cab chassis dual cab tray back, again carrying a significant load strapped into the tray.

We didn’t get the chance to sample the new California Beach ‘adventure van’ , the modern day take on the

Kombi camper, but we look forward to sampling that near a beach somewhere on a camping trip at some point in the future.

All three of the T6.1s we sampled on the day performed extremely well on a route around Sydney’s inner west in and out of heavy traffic

infinitely variable depending on your application, budget and desires.

The T6.1 range spans a vast price spectrum from a recommended retail of $38,990 for the entry level

of operation.

Volkswagen virtually invented this sector of the market, at the very least it made it successful and created a whole culture around its van range,

Transporter TDI240 with a 90kW version of the 2.0litre TDI and a five speed manual, up to a $92,990 rrp, for the headlining new age camper model, the California Beach, with the twin turbo TDI450 146kW 2.0litre turbo diesel, mated to the seven-speed DSG and 4Motion all-wheel drive.

VW’s quoted average fuel average consumption figures run from as low as 6.1litres/100km for the entry level

starting with the T1 Kombi back in the early 1950s, and while other vehicle

TDI250 up to around 8.4litre/100km for the more powerful and heavier

makers have tried to emulate the concept none have been as good or

variants, which are pretty impressive fuel numbers, if they can be matched

successful as Volkswagen has.

The new range has a total of 49

in real world conditions.

As well as the all-new dash the other

different variants, available in a choice of short or long wheel base variants, high or low roof, dual cab or single

significant changes from the previous gen 6 models is the introduction of electromechanical power steering,

cab light trucks. There is a choice

replacing the older hydraulic power

of three 2.0 litre turbo diesel engine options, ranging from 81kW to 146 kW depending on model, and either

steering in previous models, meaning better steering feel and effort with less drain on engine power and gains in

a five or six-speed manual and VW’s

fuel consumption and efficiency.

own seven-speed DSG auto, again depending on model and engine choice. Drive is either by standard front

The revised dash panel features open stowage compartments, drink holders and a lockable glove box with either

drive or 4Motion all-wheel drive on

the new 6.5 inch ‘composition colour’

various models.

The variations and range of specs are too numerous to detail in a news story like this, but are extensive and

touch screen infotainment display or a fantastic 8.0 inch ‘Discovery Media’ touch screen display, again depending on model choice.

situations impressing with their drivability, manoeuvrability, quietness, responsiveness and overall ease

now favoured with many tradies for the added capacity and flexibility they offer over traditional dual cab utes, such as VW’s own Amarok.

The vans offer a payload ranging from 951kg in the entry level TDI250 manual up to 1220kg for the TDI340 SWB six speed manual van, but generally they are around the one-tonne mark across the van range depending on spec, give or take a few kilograms here or there.

With the cab chassis trayback variants, the payload ranges from 853kg for the single cab TDI450 up to 1056kg for the dual cab TDI450, and again with small variations around those weights depending on exact spec. All models have a towing capacity of 2.5tonnes for braked trailers and 750kg for unbraked trailers.

It is clear that the Transporter no matter which form it comes in is far more than a ‘white box on wheels’, and delivers ‘versatility, practicality and customisation’ as Volkswagen boasts in its press kit. More importantly, after our all too brief drive, we can report that the Transporter is still the best handling, most impressive performer in the van market and despite being a premium offering these days, still delivers a very attractive package whether your moving freight, tools, your family and friends or paying passengers.

We look forward to bringing you a full rundown and test on a variety of new Transporter 6.1 models in coming issues.

www.truckandbus.net.au 013

People

A HARD RIDE

SOME PEOPLE IN LIFE GET WHAT THE HORSE RACING PEOPLE CALL ‘A RAILS RUN’, THE EASY PATH IF YOU LIKE. OTHERS STILL HAVE TO RUN TEN WIDE, BATTLE A HEAVY TRACK AND HAVE OTHER HORSES FALL IN FRONT OF THEM AS THEY STRUGGLE FOR VICTORY. FOR VOLVO BOSS MARTIN MERRICK, HIS TIME IN THE LOCAL SADDLE HAS BEEN ANYTHING BUT A RAILS RUN. WE SAT DOWN WITH MARTIN MERRICK AT THE END OF A TUMULTUOUS 2020 TO CHAT ABOUT HIS TIME SO FAR AND THE TIME AHEAD AT THE REINS OF THE VOLVO GROUP IN AUSTRALIA.

M

artin Merrick has been the president of Volvo Group Australia for a touch over two years. Those 24 months have been a tumultuous time for the Scotsman, taking over as he did, from his much admired predecessor Peter Voorhoeve.

Voorhoeve, it has to be said, was in charge of VGA during what was a ‘Goldilocks’ period for the company, when everything was ‘just right’, overseeing a near perfect period of sales and manufacturing growth.

In contrast Merrick arrived here on the tail end of an all-time record sales year for the industry, and almost before he had a chance to get his feet under the desk, the industry endured what always happens after a record year, a softening

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of the market. Then there was the worst of the drought and at the end of 2019 the Australian economy was hit with a bushfire emergency of massive proportions. This was followed by the dire implications of the Covid 19 pandemic, which brought not only an initial market downturn but also significant component supply chain issues for Volvo. A series of challenges no one could have predicted.

Along with that, Merrick has also had to implement a large scale program of redundancies, and while the company has not confirmed the exact extent it was said to number around 150. That in itself would knock company morale around a fair bit, but potentially also rob it of long term experience and expertise. There is no doubt that the redundancy program has

meant the loss of a huge amount of long term, grounded experience from VGA. The other controversy that arose for the Volvo boss during 2020, was the revelation that Volvo Group would not take part in the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show. The decision has had some pundits firing barbs at Merrick for the decision. But the reality is that most of the critics have never run a complex, major automotive company with local manufacturing, nor had to wrestle with the many pressures that brings, whether they be financial, moral or as a result of a global pandemic.

Only time will tell if the decision not to be at the Brisbane Show affects Volvo Group sales, or whether it will preserve resources and enable it to fight harder in other ways in the market. But it is no use

judging a corporate decision maker until results and metrics to measure it are in.

There have been plenty of cases of ‘FOMO’, or Fear Of Missing Out, when it comes to the decision makers in the Australian truck market, and particularly with their involvement in truck shows.

Participation has been viewed in many instances as a given, and most can’t tell you exactly what benefit being at a truck show actually delivers to a truck maker.

FOMO, in logical management reasoning, is not a good rationale for committing the couple of million dollars or so required to participate in a truck show. So while we don’t know if the decision to opt out of the Show is the right one or the wrong one yet, at least Martin Merrick has made a decisive action, and that may change the face of the Aussie truck business. Only time will tell.

Given that the main reason for skipping the Brisbane Show was Covid, Merrick was very firm in his answer when asked if an easing of restrictions might see a change of heart.

“No. It won’t be reversed. Yes it was the result of COVID, but we have got a fantastic team here that have been very concerned about the pandemic, and they have come to speak to me about our need to launch our four new Volvo truck products, and of course the Brisbane Truck Show would have been perfect for us to showcase those new models. However, we didn’t know whether it would be on or not. The customers and dealers normally travel to Brisbane for the show, so we had to ponder, will they be able to travel, or will they want to travel?”

“There were still so many unknowns, and our team said, ‘we really need to do something, definitely, to launch our products in a good way’. It was at a ridiculous stage, we were going from Plan A, almost to Plan F. What if, what if, what if ? And given the amount of time, effort and energy that needs to go in to the Brisbane Truck Show, given the amount of time, energy and commitment and resources to do a good launch, the team really said to me, ‘we recommend we shouldn’t go to the Brisbane Truck Show’. This was a local decision from the leadership team and the marketing team, who judged what was right to launch our products and for our customers to get access to the trucks. That’s why the decision was made,” he added.

“The Brisbane Show would cost us about $2 million, and of course, I would have preferred to be there with our new range, but this was not about cost cutting, this was about us having to do the right thing for our people, and to do it the right way,” he said.

While Volvo has decided not to spend its money at the Brisbane Show it has announce some significant investment in its Wacol manufacturing facility in Brisbane’s western suburbs and this will finally signal the introduction of locally built Euro 6 spec Volvos, and also some long awaited safety upgrades for the Mack brand along with the Anthem, which is now more than a year behind schedule.

“We’re delighted in the last few months or so, that even during these tough times, we have secured the investment to build Euro 6 locally for Volvo ahead of the time previously mandated, and we have secured

investment for Mack also,” Merrick told us.

“When I spoke with you in 2019, we were working on this, but it’s difficult to share exactly what we’re working on when it is confidential, but the new product range for Volvo will be built in Australia, all four new models, and we’re going ahead with Mack advances for which we also secured a $100 million investment,” he continued.

“When you look at the current climate, we hear of other OEMs closing production facilities because of the pandemic, we understand that, and we’re really happy that we secured investment from Volvo globally. Volvo globally supports Australia very heavily and I’m really delighted to have a network that supports what we have here, and they see that what we have in Australia works very well and they continue with that support and that investment.”

Merrick went on to emphasise the flow on effects for Australian industry, citing around 80 local suppliers and transport logistics organisations involved in the company’s local manufacturing and ahead with its Euro 6 models and Mack improvements.

“It is really critical to understand how important that investment and commitment is, because if this didn’t happen and we just imported Euro 6, then we would not have that in our Australian economy,” Merrick said.

Merrick came to Australia from a service background in the UK and Sweden, and when asked what his main goals were when he first arrived down under, he quickly answered that his priority was to build on the work that VGA was already doing.

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“Of course, the mantra, the philosophy, under Peter (Voorhoeve) has been service, service, service, and when I arrived in September 2018 I spent the first four months traveling, visiting dealers and customers and getting feedback, and we’re building on that, and our aim is to be the best business partner we can. There’s a lot more about providing solutions to our customers, rather than just selling trucks,” Merrick said.

Merrick emphasises that as a team VGA listened to the feedback of its customers and dealers and as a team set a vision and strategy for the future, deciding locally what that should be.

“We’ve got a fantastic team here, a really strong, focussed team and we could see that we had to build on the culture of service, service, service, it has served us well, if you will pardon the pun.

“We’re actually building that to the next level now and we see customer behaviours changing so we have mapped out the customer journey end to end, and identified the key points for our customers and our customer’s customers,” Merrick added.

“We set about understanding how we address those key points as well as how to build the future, and realised that perhaps we had been too sensitive about just turning sales, and we identified that in January

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2019. We spoke as a team to the dealer network that we felt we had to ensure that our dealers were supported, and that they had a good balance in the business. That’s exactly what we’ve done over the last 18 months, so we were in really good shape coming into this recession. We wish we were not in a recession, but we were in good shape to face it,” he proffered.

“I would say that the vision and strategy we had was brought forward by COVID-19, so basically we accelerated our strategy, rather than change the strategy when the pandemic hit,” Merrick said.

On the other major staff cuts that were instigated at VGA in 2020, the slashing of a reported 150 staff from its Australian operation, Merrick was firm and assured in his explanation.

“There were a number of reasons for the reductions, firstly we have produced about 40 per cent less trucks in 2020 and that was a dent on the business, thankfully, in Australia, it’s not as bad as what it first seemed, but it was still a significant downturn,” said Merrick.

Asked if the decision to cut jobs was made in Australia or came as a result of a global edict from headquarters in Sweden, Merrick intimated that a global perspective was the major influence.

“We could not continue doing the jobs that we have always done, COVID-19 meant we accelerated our strategy for the future. Globally, our industry will be transformed in the next decade and we need to invest in the future. We need to perform to transform, we have a joint venture with Daimler, for fuel cell technology, another joint venture with Samsung, and another with NVIDIA, for autonomous technology, so we need to invest in that for the future “Australia is part of our global company, we need to play our part in that, Volvo Group invest in us here locally, and we need to give her a ton for that investment, so that as a group, we get a secure future.

“There’s a couple of things that we’ve got to look at here, as a team we looked at our vision and strategies for the future, and moving to solution selling,” he said.

“We have three brands here and the feedback from our customers was that they were getting three visits from three people from our organisation, each representing a different brand, and we also had a back office for each of the individual brands.

“As a team here, we had to do something to make that right and that was part of the plan, COVID-19, just accelerated that strategy as I said.

“ WE BUILD MACKS HERE AND I’M DELIGHTED THAT AFTER PRESENTING TO MACK GLOBALLY, WE’RE GETTING FULL SUPPORT AND THAT $100 MILLION INVESTMENT OVER THE NEXT FOUR YEARS IN MACK HERE IN AUSTRALIA IS A REALITY”

“We talk about digital transformation, and we now have an opportunity to bring in more automation, using certain things to handle mundane jobs, but what we’re also doing is redeploying and creating roles for the future. We have electric mobility coming and a number of other things, so we felt we needed to be right for the future,” Merrick explained.

Interestingly, part way through the year at the end of July 2020, it looked as though Volvo was on its way to beating long-time heavy duty rival, Kenworth, in the sales race. The big V was about 100 trucks ahead of Kenworth in the coveted primacy for the heavy duty sector, and looked like it could finally dust its rival. We say interestingly, because while it had the lead in July, Kenworth outsold it in every month since then and finished 2020 more then 300 trucks ahead. That resurgence, perhaps coincidentally, coincided with the major job cuts at VGA. Was Merrick surprised to have had a such a substantial lead over Kenworth at that time ?

“Not really, and since I’ve been here that has been the trend. I have the utmost respect for Andrew Hadjikakou’s organisation (Paccar Australia) and what they’re doing and what Kenworth has done

in Australia, but we were more impressed to take number one in customer satisfaction for Volvo, number two for Mack, number three for UD, they are far more important numbers for me and the network,” said Merrick.

“Of course, when we get number one in market share, that’s fantastic, and for every 10 trucks delivered or registered in Australia, three have been Volvo Group products and that’s great for our dealers, because we’ve got a very strong dealer network,” he added.

VGA’s other key brand, the famed Mack, is overdue for the introduction of its long awaited Anthem and its flat floor cab for locally assembled Bulldogs. However, almost three years after a small contingent of Australian journalists were taken to the USA to preview the Anthem, and promises were made that it would be in Australia by the end of 2019, we are only now starting to see the new trucks launched here.

We asked Martin Merrick when we could expect to see Anthem and what the reasons were for its delayed appearance?

“Yes, there’s been delays, not just for Mack, but I’m sure for a lot of OEMs globally, but we’re building the key builds at Wacol as we speak, you’ve probably seen some pictures of the Anthem here,

but we will have them running on the road, series production models from mid-year,” Merrick said.

“We build Macks here and I’m delighted that after presenting to Mack globally, we’re getting full support and that $100 million investment over the next four years in Mack here in Australia is a reality.

“Of course, I can’t share with you what that will be, but I can say Euro 6 will be included in that investment, I know you have been pushing us on the introduction of locally built Euro 6 on both Mack and Volvo, we could import Euro 6, and we have been doing that with Volvo since 2017, but would you prefer us to build trucks here or import them?”

“I am sure you’d reply that you would prefer them built here, and that’s been part of our plan, but of course we haven’t been able to answer that question directly because we’re asking for the investment and now we have secured that necessary investment,” he added.

Another significant change in the Volvo world in recent times was the sale of the UD brand to Isuzu, a situation that some say may lead to headaches for Volvo in Australia, citing potential clashes with Isuzu Australia and the two organisation’s differing sales goals and motives.

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“In reality this is a strategic alliance, and a strategic technology partnership because the UD product has access to the Volvo Group Task platform and will share our technology. Isuzu and Volvo Group have this strategic alliance and technology partnership for the future. Isuzu want to continue having access to that platform for their heavy trucks, and it’s a big portfolio for Isuzu. In the end, they have the UD product, and from a technology partnership, Volvo and Isuzu need to work together in partnership,” Merrick said.

“If you think about Volvo Group and Isuzu with this technology partnership for Task, that will work in the same way as our joint venture with Daimler for fuel cells. In effect, it’s a strategic alliance and a technology partnership. This gives Isuzu a very strong position, particularly in Japan, but when it comes to Australia, we will be the sole marketer of the UD platform and our dealers and our customers won’t see any difference,” he added.

As an aside Merrick mentions that it will also give Volvo access to markets where it has no or little presence globally, with Isuzu also becoming the importer for Volvo trucks in certain markets.

So after a bit over two years at the reins, we asked Martin Merrick what Volvo Group’s biggest challenges are, particularly looking forward another 24 months or so, and given the fact he has had to weather one of the biggest crisis in the last century.

“Well I would say that, right now we’re in really good shape. We’ve had to stop production a few months ago for four days because the containers couldn’t be offloaded with their material and our buffer stock ran down. I’ve no doubt in my mind, over the next 12 months or so, that we’ll have some further disruption with COVID-19 and potential lockdowns. We just need to look globally. With a global economy, we have global supply chains, everybody’s involved and we see some of the challenges there,” Martin Merrick said.

“Over the next 24 months we are looking

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to increase a number of local suppliers where we can, so that we can secure our supply chain. I would say that we are in good shape as a country, we’re in good shape as Volvo Group Australia and Volvo Group globally, Mack is also going well and announced a strong result just recently for quarter three, and so we’re in good shape overall.

“I would say we are well positioned to move forward for the next 24 months.

We’ve got a fantastic product range here over the next 24 months to four years and we’re very excited about that.

“As long as our supply chain can be resilient to what we think we will face over the next 24 months, that I would say, is our biggest challenge right now.

“We’ve been building trucks here in Australia since 1972, and we’ve been doing that without any subsidies from the government. We spend $200 million a year in the local supply chain by having a factory here and we take nothing out. Volvo Group does not take a penny of Australia’s taxpayers money, but we create jobs at the factory, we create jobs in the value chain and we support the transport industry,” said Merrick.

“Perhaps we should share that more often with the public and the fact that we don’t take a penny of taxpayers money in this country,” he added.

Merrick says that the company is actively seeking more local component suppliers to help smooth out supply chain issues, and says it has reached out to other manufacturers who are not involved in the industry, to ask if they would be interested in manufacturing components.

“We’re trying to attract more component manufacturers into our industry and we’re working on that, and if that happens it would be extremely successful, and would mean more investment in the local supply chain and local transport logistics,” he added.

The other big challenge ahead for all automotive companies will be the coming

zero emission revolution and how those new technologies will be adopted and ushered in.

“Volvo Group is well positioned, I believe, we have the first electric trucks, Volvo FL rigids, already here in Australia and they are just starting trials in distribution work with Linfox. Then we will see some more throughout 2021.

“With Hydrogen fuel cell, I would say that there’s a bit of work to be done on that, but I’m anticipating by the end of quarter one we will have a roadmap for Australia on hydrogen fuel cell technology. You need to watch this space and we need to defer to due process at the global level with Volvo Group and Daimler, but what I really believe is that Australia is viewed as a fantastic test ground for Volvo Group.

“As we already know, if it can work in Australia, it will work anywhere,” Merrick added.

“When it comes to autonomous vehicles, we have confined areas with mines and such and we’re already working out how that happens in Australia with Volvo Group and some key customers, which is fantastic,” Merrick said.

Merrick points to Australia’s potential for large scale hydrogen production as a major advantage, but like other truck executives he doesn’t see a single technology as the power source of the future, as the internal combustion engine has been for much of the past 100 years.

“We have a number of alternatives that we can satisfy the industry with. But I think our future looks very good and Australia has been chosen as a key market for Volvo Group, in terms of electric mobility, autonomous and fuel cell technology, I can’t say too much about that yet, because we need to wait ‘till later in the year,” Merrick said with a smile.

While his predecessors may have had less challenging conditions it is clear Merrick has faced the tough times with a big dose of Scottish ‘can do’ attitude, the results of his tenure in Australia will be judged by history.

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New Model

AN INCREASING PRESSURE ON MANUFACTURERS TO BE MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS HAS DRIVEN A NUMBER OF MAKERS TO INTRODUCE EURO 6 IN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES IN AUSTRALIA, DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT IS YET TO BE MANDATED. IN FACT THERE IS NO CLEAR INDICATION WHEN EURO 6 WILL BE MANDATED HERE, IVECO IS A MAKER THAT HAS EMBRACED EURO 6 IN ITS UPPER END TRUCKS AND NOW IN ITS BEST-SELLING PRODUCT, THE LIGHT COMMERCIAL DAILY RANGE. WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE NEW DAILY AND SEE HOW IT MEASURES UP.

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S

ome industry observers say that without Daily, Iveco may be in more trouble in Australia than the early settlers. For the calendar year 2020, Iveco sold 889 Daily light duty cab chassis trucks and 298 vans while it sold a total of 520 medium and heavy duty Eurocargos and Stralis models. So from those figures it’s easy to understand how important the Daily is for the Italian owned truck and bus maker. Save for the dominant three Japanese truck makers, Iveco was the next best performer in light duty trucks.

For us the configuration of the European sourced cab chassis trucks, derived from the van, holds a lot of appeal. They deliver better ride thanks to the bonneted conventional design, with the cab sitting further back in the chassis and not directly over the front wheels.

The launch of the new Daily E6 range is according to Iveco, ‘the most significant enhancement to the model line-up in five years’.

Clearly the arrival of Euro 6-rated engines is the major new feature, but on a near equal footing are additional active safety equipment and increased cabin appointments.

The new Daily cab-chassis range features the 50C and 70C models and includes dual cab variants and GVM options starting at 4.495 tonnes and extending up through 5.2, 7.0 and 7.2 tonnes, along with multiple wheelbase choices, allowing owners to fit a wide selection of body types.

Cab Chassis models are also available with Power Take-Off (PTO) and expansion module options, with the expansion module also available in the van models,

allowing body-builders to equip them with more sophisticated bodies if required.

Iveco says that depending on the application, owners can also specify an optional rear differential lock and electronically-controlled air suspension (ECAS) across both the cab chassis and van variants.

The braked towing capacity range-wide is 3,500kg, providing added flexibility for owners. The 35S van is the only model in the new truck and van line up with a lower tow capacity, down 300kg to 3,200kg.

The new van range comes in three variants, the 35S, 50C and 70C with either single or dual wheel options and 7.3, 9.0, 12, 16, 18 and 19.6m³ cubic metre volume capacities, the latter being the biggest in the market according to Iveco.

Iveco says there are also four van GVM options, starting with passenger car-licence compliant 3.8 tonne and 4.495 tonne variants, through light truck licence 5.2 tonne capacity and the ‘market-leading’ seven-tonne capacity.

Iveco says the new powerplants meet Euro 6 emission requirements while also increasing power and fuel efficiency by up to 10 per cent reduction in fuel use, compared to the previous generation engines.

The new Daily boasts three engines beginning with a 2.3 litre, direct injection and intercooled diesel with electronicallycontrolled Variable Geometry turbocharger (e-VGT), producing 100 kW (136hp) and 350 Nm , but is only available in the 35S van.

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The other two engines include a 3.0 litre, direct injection with VGT putting out 132kW (180hp) and 430 Nm, and for those requiring even more power, there is the direct injection 3.0 litre variant with e-VGT, which can be selected across all van and cab chassis models with what Iveco claims is a market-leading 155kW (210hp) and 470Nm. The Daily E6 uses SCR to meet Euro 6 emission standards and is equipped with a 20 litre AdBlue tank which means the operator will only need to refill the AdBlue tank every seven or so tanks of diesel.

Matched to the engines is a choice of either a conventional six-speed synchromesh overdrive manual, for drivers who prefer to shift themselves, or the Hi-Matic eight-speed full automatic.

Iveco says that thanks to its eight speeds, the Hi-Matic allows the engine to constantly operate at its optimal speed and efficiency range– it also provides

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the flexibility to be used as a sequential transmission allowing the driver to select the gears manually via the ‘plus’ and ‘minus’.

The company says that a further benefit of the Hi-Matic is its ‘Eco’ and ‘Power’ mode functions. When ‘Eco’ is selected, the transmission changes gears at lower rpm to reduce fuel consumption, the engines peak torque is reduced and the power curve is softened, while ‘Power’ mode holds the vehicle in each gear for longer and gives access to maximum torque and power, for crisper acceleration.

As with the previous Daily range, the safety equipment list includes front and rear disc brakes with ABS, Electronic Stability Program, four airbags and the availability of Lane Departure Warning.

However Iveco has boosted the E6 model safety standards by offering Advanced Emergency Braking (AEBS), Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Crosswind Assist and the enhanced ‘ESP9’ suite of stability control technologies as standard. ‘ESP9’

includes Anti-Lock Brakes, Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Electronic Stability Program, Anti-Slip Regulator, Drag Torque Control, Hill Hold Control, Enhanced Under-Steering Control, Adaptive Load Control, Trailer Sway Mitigation, Hydraulic Rear-wheel Boost, Hydraulic Fading Compensation, Roll Movement Intervention and Roll Over Mitigation.

Other active safety features including Lane Departure Warning System (LDWS), full LED headlamps , Hill Decent Control, City Brake, Queue Assist and Traction Plus which are available as either stand-alone options or as part of ‘Pack’ option upgrades.

Phew, there are more acronyms there than in the ARD (Accronym Reference Dictionary)!

In addition to the standard equipment including electric windows, heated and electrically adjustable mirrors, keyless entry/central locking, engine immobiliser

and air-conditioning, Daily E6 introduces a number of other upgrades.

Iveco says there’s a new, high-resolution colour TFT instrument cluster that’s easier to read and features seven dedicated screen menus providing over 100 points of information. There is also an optional new ‘Hi-Connect’ multimedia and navigation system with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, plus GPS by Tom Tom and Bluetooth.

Many of the system’s functions can be accessed via controls mounted on the newlydesigned soft-touch steering wheel, which is slightly smaller and has a new, asymmetric shape for improved ergonomics.

The new Daily E6 adopts a dashmounted electronic parking brake switch, providing extra space and easier movement around the cabin. The new park brake also engages automatically at key-off and disengages once the driver’s seat belt is on, the key is on and ‘drive’ selected (neutral for manual models).

The introduction of an optional new ‘run lock’ function also allows the operator to exit the vehicle with the key to make drop-offs while the engine is still running.

This is a particularly useful function for applications such as refrigerated transport, as the cooler stays operational.

Also aiding convenience is the optional cordless inductive charging for mobile phones and other devices, while innovative storage solutions throughout the cabin provide ample space to stow personal protective equipment and other items.

There is a heated and suspended fully adjustable driver’s seat is now also standard across the range, which is optional for the front passenger but standard for front passenger on Daily Dual Cab Chassis and features multiple points of adjustment with lumbar support and an armrest. Those running work crews will also appreciate the second row seating of the dual cab chassis, which can accommodate up to four adults.

Daily E6 is immediately distinguishable from earlier models by its wider, redesigned grille, which encourages greater airflow. Vehicles with the automatic transmission receive a chrome highlight grille, while manual variants feature black throughout.

If selected as an option, Daily E6’s full LED headlights also increase visual appeal and road presence, while improving lighting performance over nonLED headlamps by up to 12 per cent and the driver’s light perception by up to 15 per cent.

Depending on buyer requirements, prospective Daily E6 owners can select from four optional upgrade packs, ‘Hi-Business Pack’, ‘Hi-Comfort Pack’, ‘Hi-Technology Pack – Automatic Transmission’ and ‘Hi-Technology Pack – Manual Transmission’, allowing them to more closely tailor a specification package to best suit the application, while receiving more value by grouping options.

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The Hi-Business pack includes the Hi-Connect multimedia system and GPS, open storage with inductive phone charging plus USB charge, fog lights and reverse camera (van only).

If the Hi-Comfort features are selected you get automatic controlled air-conditioning, leather covered steering wheel, Tyre Pressure Monitoring System and automatic wipers and headlights control.

The two Hi-Technology packs include Queue Assist (Automatic transmission only), Lane Departure Warning System, City Brake, Traction Plus and Hill Descent and Automatic high beam control.

Iveco Australia product manager, Marco Quaranta said the development of Daily E6 has focused on providing van and light truck buyers with rangewide enhancements in the key areas of safety, emission performance, productivity and comfort.

“A move to a dedicated Euro6 engine range in Daily, years before this emission rating is mandated, shows Iveco’s commitment to reducing the environmental impact of its vehicles, and is in line with broader consumer trends which show that buyers are taking a stronger interest in this area,” Marco Quaranta said.

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“Likewise, safety has become a high priority among buyers, so we’re extremely pleased that the new Daily E6 takes safety to new heights, particularly passive safety with standard Adaptive Cruise Control, Advanced Emergency Braking System and an enhanced ESP9 program, plus options such as Lane Departure Warning System, Queue Assist and City Brake,” he added.

“Of course, Daily is a light commercial vehicle, so as well as being safe, car-like to drive and emitting fewer emissions, it’s primarily a tool, so it must offer productivity, practicality and a low total cost of ownership. Daily E6 does do this by offering owners several market-leading benefits including the largest van volume (19.6m³) and GVM (7,000kg), as well as class-leading engines (210hp / 470Nm) and automatic transmission (full eightspeed) across both van and cab chassis.

“We’re confident that Daily E6 will be extremely well received by the market and continue to grow its ownership base with this latest model range,” Quaranta concluded.

Unfortunately due to the Covid crisis, Iveco, like so many manufacturers, had to forego a proper media launch and drive program for the new Daily, but we hope to bring you some full road tests of the new models in coming issues.

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Roads

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ust over 30 years after two tragic crashes on the Pacific Highway in the closing months of 1989, the completion of the conversion of the old single carriageway road to a modern, dual-carriageway motorway between Hexham and the Queensland border has finally arrived.

The completion of the road has ushered in a new era that promises a safer, more efficient road link between Sydney and Brisbane, which is set to save the country not only the tragedy of lost lives, but also billions of dollar as a result of faster and

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better transit for trucks and other road users.

For someone who travelled the Pacific many times in the old days, and since, and who personally came within inches of being in a collision with a truck on the infamous old O’Sullivans Gap section, just two nights after the tragic Kempsey bus crash, the completion of the new road could not have come soon enough.

After years of delay and obfuscation by politicians on both sides of the divide, the time taken to complete the road has been totally unsatisfactory. Excuses that the cost was too great and that budget was

not available, cannot and should never have been countenanced. The reality is whatever the cost of rebuilding the road at any point in time, it was never going to get cheaper to build, and the longer the delays, the longer the wait for the massive efficiency and life savings we would reap as a society.

With the completion of the dual carriageway, politicians have been clamoring to take credit for it, but as has been often noted, success has many fathers, failure is an orphan!

NSW minister for regional transport,

PACIFIC – /PA’SIFIK/ ADJECTIVE – DEF. PEACEFUL: AT PEACE: PACIFIC STATE OF THINGS. THAT’S WHAT THE MACQUARIE DICTIONARY GIVES AS THE DEFINITION OF PACIFIC, BUT ANYONE WHO TRAVELLED THE PACIFIC HIGHWAY IN THE,70s, 80s OR 90s WILL KNOW THAT IT WAS ANYTHING BUT PEACEFUL OR AT PEACE. IN FACT IF YOU SPEAK WITH THE EMERGENCY SERVICES AND FIRST RESPONDERS THEY WOULD DESCRIBE SOME ACCIDENT SCENES ON THE VITAL HIGHWAY AS ‘WAR-LIKE’. WITH THE COMPLETION FINALLY OF A DUAL CARRIAGEWAY PACIFIC, T&TA TAKES A LOOK AT THE BENEFITS THE MOTORWAY WILL DELIVER AND WHAT 30 YEARS OF DELAY HAS COST US.

Paul Toole, was one of the pollies making statements around the opening of the final section of the highway recently, rightfully declaring that the freight industry will benefit from huge road safety improvements and time savings of up to three hours with the completion of the Pacific upgrade.

Let’s just stop there for a second and wrap some more figures around that.

If each heavy truck saves three hours on its journey, and you multiply that by the estimate of around 4500 heavy truck journeys made between the two cities

each day, then the new road is saving roughly 13500 man hours every day.

That is a phenomenal saving. That means that every day of the year our economy and businesses are saving a huge amount of money. Let’s say that every driver costs a conservative $20 per hour, but we all know it is more than that in real terms, however let’s be conservative. That means every day the transport industry is saving $270,000 in personnel costs alone, on an annual basis that is around $100 million in savings.

That doesn’t count fuel savings, and

that is also a vast amount, that is difficult to quantify, but with better grades, a minimum of stop start ( except for the yet to be bypassed Coffs Harbour) and less potential for being baulked by other vehicles, the savings would have to be in the order of at least 20 litres each way and that again is a conservative estimate.

At say $1.20 a litre each truck would save about $24 in fuel on each Brisbane-Sydney run so the industry would be saving around $110,000 every day in fuel. Across a year that equates to a saving of about $39 million.

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This is all before we start calculating the human cost in death and injury which is much more about the saving of misery and suffering. So in that regard the cost for the construction in completing of the majority of the Pacific as a dual carriageway is worth every cent and a whole lot more.

If we want to be mercenary about it, then, depending on the metrics you apply, the cost to society of an accidental death or traumatic injury is also a huge impost.

The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) estimate in 2010, that accidental human death has a societal cost of about $2.4 million per fatality, with a cost of about $214 000 per hospitalised injury (including disability-related costs), and $2100 per non-hospitalised injury.

In 1989 more than 800 people lost their lives on NSW roads, 57 of them in the two dreadful bus crashes at Cowper and Clybucca. The Pacific accounted for almost 15 per cent of the state’s fatalities that year. At the time of writing, the total NSW road toll for 2020 stood at 297, but over the past 30 years, close to 1000 souls have lost their lives on the Pacific.

Applying a dollar value to those fatalities is a very harsh metric and devalues the human suffering, but in purely those terms, and with those numbers in mind, it is estimated that the Pacific cost society more than $2.4 billion as a result of the fatalities alone, not counting road trauma.

Any way you study those figures, you could only conclude that duplicating the Pacific and the Hume had be national priorities.

NSW Minister for regional transport and roads, Paul Toole justified the

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completion of the 657 kilometre Pacific Highway duplication between Hexham and the Queensland Border, by saying that primary produce, supermarket goods and hospital supplies will hit shelves faster and more economically. That is an interesting mix of products cited by Mr. Toole, but in reality the Pacific motorway will speed up everything.

“It has taken over two decades to finish the biggest regional road infrastructure project Australia has ever seen and the benefits to the freight industry are immense,” Mr Toole said.

“The Pacific Highway is the second busiest road freight route in Australia, behind the Hume Highway, with freight volumes on the upgraded section forecast to nearly double over the next 40 years,” said Toole.

We think he has undersold it, with the freight task said to be actually doubling every 10 years and experts reckon that the highway is already carrying at least 40 million tonnes a year.

What Paul Toole did say that we agree with, is that the completion will allow more modern higher performance vehicles, operating under PBS, to more safely and efficiently travel between Sydney and Brisbane.

“The upgraded highway not only reduces travel times by almost three hours, but more modern and efficient vehicles means fewer vehicles on the road, which improves safety, increases productivity and reduces freight costs,” said Toole.

One bloke who should know the highway and the economics of a dual carriageway completion is Jim Pearson, who of course operates the long-established family business, Jim Pearson Transport.

Jim said that one of the biggest benefits of the upgrade has been improvements to safety.

“We have a fleet of about 260 modern, higher productivity vehicles which make over 60 trips a day, and the dual carriageway means there is plenty of room for higher capacity vehicles, making it safer for all road users,” Jim Pearson said.

“It also means we can carry more goods in less time to get where they need to be, including supermarket shelves.”

Another aspect that hasn’t been factored into our relatively crude, ‘back of envelope’ calculations, is the fact that the Pacific Highway upgrade has also contributed to significant regional growth on the NSW North Coast, including benefits to local services, tourism and the economy.

“ IT HAS TAKEN OVER TWO DECADES TO FINISH THE BIGGEST REGIONAL ROAD INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT AUSTRALIA HAS EVER SEEN AND THE BENEFITS TO THE FREIGHT INDUSTRY ARE IMMENSE”

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An example is Sunshine Sugar, which provides more than 400 direct jobs and is one of the largest contributors to the local economy, producing around 25 per cent of the Australian domestic sugar market.

General manager operations, David Wood said the Pacific Highway was critical to the timely delivery of products to customers with the duplication providing quicker, safer and more direct delivery into the Sydney and Brisbane markets.

“The upgrade has definitely been a positive for us, delivering savings in journey time, increased productivity and safer conditions for our drivers,” Mr Wood said.

“The highway upgrade has reduced the amount of time required to move between our three sugar mills and has eliminated the risk for trucks turning directly on and off the highway at our sites.

The opening of the new Wardell Bridge across the Richmond River as part of the upgrade has also seen the last remaining load-restricted bridge for HML vehicles on the Pacific Highway bypassed.

Not surprisingly the ATA has lauded the completion of the road and the contribution it will make to the nation.

Chair of the ATA David Smith said that the completed duplication will save lives, especially as traffic increases ahead of the Christmas holiday period, whether the Covid flair up in Sydney’s Northern Beaches reduces that traffic load or not. Smith said the project was of great significance to the trucking industry and every road user.

“The completion of the Pacific Highway duplication is an important moment for

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Australia and road safety,” Mr Smith said.

“It’s important for Australia because it’s a key freight route. It is the second busiest interstate road freight corridor in Australia,” he said.

“The safety importance of the upgrade is highlighted by the tragic Grafton truck and bus crash, which occurred on 20 October 1989. A semitrailer veered into oncoming traffic and hit a bus on the highway near Grafton. Twenty-one people died and 22 more were injured - the worst crash in Australian road transport history at the time.

“A key recommendation out of the coronial inquiry into the crash was to duplicate the highway.

“The Australian Trucking Association was also established in response to the tragedy,” Mr Smith said.

“The completion of the upgrade is an enormous win for our industry and every road user, and we are so thankful that after so many years of strong bipartisan government commitment, we have finally seen the completed duplication,” he said.

“The upgrade will deliver better safety outcomes for our drivers because drivers play an essential role and are out on our roads every day, working hard to keep Australia supplied, they deserve better roads,” Mr Smith said.

“On behalf of industry, I want to thank successive NSW and Australian governments for their action and recognition of the importance of this nation building project.

The only missing links now are the Coffs Harbour bypass, which has just received approval from Federal environment

minister, Sussan Ley. Deputy PM and minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development, Michael McCormack says the 14-kilometre bypass, is one of the 15 major projects that the Federal Government has committed to fast-tracking.

“The bypass is going to take more than 12,000 vehicles a day out of the centre of Coffs Harbour, reduce travel times by as much as 12 minutes by bypassing 12 sets of traffic lights, and improve safety for all road users,” McCormack says.

“Transport for NSW has now received the final stamp of approval, after close scrutiny by the NSW Minister for Planning, Rob Stokes.

The approval includes proposed tunnels at Roberts Hill, Shephards Lane and Gatelys Road, as well as assessing the project for its social, environmental, heritage and economic impacts, and gives the project team the green light to go ahead with major work.

The project is expected to take around five years to build, while the planned Raymond Terrace to Beresfield by pass, which will see with a new high level Hunter River Crossing, is also advancing and should be completed by 2028, being the final piece in an absolutely vital piece of transport infrastructure, that will make our country more efficient, safer and better.

All we can say is hallelujah! Skimping on road funding, particularly key interstate freight routes, is folly and as a nation we should never again tolerate such massively long delays in delivering safer, more efficient and highly valuable projects like the Pacific.

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Road Test

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PHOTOGRAPHY BY WARREN CAVES

OFF ROAD 4X4 TRUCKS, THE STAPLE OF MANY A BUSH FIRE BRIGADE HAVE NEVER OFFERED TOO MUCH OF A DRIVING EXPERIENCE. HOWEVER HINO’S UPGRADED 500 SERIES GT1528 HAS CHANGED ALL THAT. WE TOOK IT FOR A SPIN, BOTH ON AND OFF ROAD AND TOOK IT BACK WITH A SMILE ON OUR FACES. www.truckandbus.net.au 033

O

ne of the first trucks this writer ever drove was an old International 4x4 on a farm in the early 1970s. It was long before we had a licence and the chance to get behind the wheel of a ‘proper’ truck on private property was a big lure for a young bloke keen on anything mechanical.

There are still vivid memories of that drive and just how difficult the old machine was to drive, how harsh the ride was and generally how uncomfortable it all was.

Fast forward about 45 years and behind the wheel of Hino’s recently ungraded and refreshed 500 Series GT 1528 4x4 the realisation of just how far the engineering and design of modern trucks has come, particularly in the off road sector.

Obviously the 4x4 truck market is a

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very defined niche with rural fire services, mining, construction and a number of farm operations largely accounting for the customer base, so naturally the market is not huge when it comes to volume.

However they are a very necessary and important truck type and the increasing need for higher safety levels for OH&S compliance means that trucks like the GT is strong.

The tragic bushfires of late 2019 and early 2020 will surely push more fire authorities to update their fleets and embrace higher levels of safety such as those offered in this Hino.

With that knowledge of the old clunker we first steered all those years ago and more recent 4x4 drives didn’t fill us with a great deal of positive expectation , The

lumbering and often ungainly nature of this type of truck, which by nature site higher off the road and has to cope with other on road handicaps, like the weight of extra diffs and a transfer case has always delivered an uncomfortable on highway experience.

On the back of Hino’s successful upgrade of the standard cab 500 series in 2019, its 4x4 offering arrived a little later with some important increases in payload capability, the addition of a factory fitted automatic transmission and a swag of added safety upgrades.

This newer Hino off roader replaces the previous GT 1322 and now runs on a new higher rated 5.5 tonne front axle with the rear now up specced to a 10 tonne capacity to give it an overall GVM of 14.5

tonnes, up from the old model’s 13 tonne GVM. Given the low tare weight of the 1528 the new truck boasts a payload of around nine tonnes, which in itself is an impressive rating.

The higher GVM and payload of the 1528 has also prompted an increase in engine output from Hino’s well proven and venerable JO8 eight-litre six cylinder .

The newer truck delivers 280hp, a massive 30 per cent increase over the 215hp on the old 1322, while torque is up 31 per cent from 637Nm to 824 Nm. All that means that applications such as rural fire truck operations allows the vehicle to carry more water more efficiently in emergency situations.

Importantly the Hino engineers have mated that engine to Allison’s 2500

five speed automatic as a standard factory fitment. The automatic in is another feature that is being increasingly demanded by larger corporations, public utilities and emergency services and the Allison is the ideal unit, delivering decisive shifts with very strong torque delivery.

Along with that Hino has also given the beefed up 1528 a bigger and more robust dual-range transfer case to take the increased power and torque.

The safety credentials have also been upgraded with ABS anti-lock brakes and a driver side airbag, as well heated and electrically adjusted side mirrors.

The 1528 doesn’t get the full suite of safety features that were loaded into the conventional on road 500 Series Hinos, such as auto Emergency Braking, Stability

Programs and such, but given these are often required to work in off road conditions where trees and slippery gravel could send the truck’s computers to a mental health centre, it is fair enough that they haven’t been added to this truck.

Other new features include the addition of cruise control and a terrific Isri airsuspension driver’s seat for added comfort on and off road.

Another carry over from the on road 500 series trucks is the very good multimedia system, with a touch screen operation, great audio, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi connectivity and an integrated reversing camera along with a bunch of other features.

After a week with GT 1528 which included some tough off roading as well as a swag of on highway travel, we have

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to say Hino has done a marvellous job at refining the 4x4 truck experience. In the past 4x4 trucks have been driven with low expectations and mental parameters set by that old farm clunker years ago. Clearly things have improved but generally ride and handling has been fairly ordinary. Not so with this Hino. Part of the improvement has been the replacement of the traditional multi pack leaf springs with long parabolic springs on the front axle, taking the sharpness out of many jolts encountered off road as well as the bumps on road. The ride quality is boosted tremendously by the Isri suspension seat which makes life for the driver even better still.

With a solid load on board the Hino GT with its large seven-seat crew cab configuration tipped the scales at a shade over 12 tonnes and with that demand on the truck it had little trouble in slippery off road conditions while also being very stable and even ride over the bumpy stuff.

Traction on loose surfaces was extremely confidence inspiring with sure footed performance on loose rocky surfaces, sandy going and muddy conditions as well as grassy paddocks.

The other aspect that impresses was the lack of steering kick back with well damped

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and weighted feel through the wheel.

The ride quality really is very good and is a long way ahead of its opposition at the moment setting the benchmark for Japanese 4x4 trucks that dominate this market.

Engaging the 4x4 system is a simple push of a button on the dash and away you go while putting the truck into ‘climb the brick wall’ low range is equally simple as another switch, so long ads the truck is stationery.

The Allison auto is ideally suited to the off road task, holding gears well and not hunting up and down the box while the strong increase in torque means the Hino clambered up steep grades, even when slippery, with consummate ease.

While the driving position and the driver’s seat are terrific, it is a long way up and down from the high cab of the GT. But that is part of the 4x4 equation and it is difficult to avoid having a long climb up and down in any truck with off road capability.

No one has ever doubted the off road credentials of trucks like the Hino but when you add in that 4x4 nomenclature the on road ride and handling tends to have a question mark over them. However with this new truck the on road performance was a major step up in our opinion.

Given that often rural fire trucks often

have to cover a lot of territory on highway in a hurry to respond to fires and the like, on highway handling and performance is a pretty important aspect and Hino has gone a long way to addressing this with the new 1528.

With very positive steering and handling, terrific engine response the Hino impressed in every way on sealed surfaces whether they be motorways or given and take rural tarmac.

Another aspect that really impressed was the fuel economy of the Hino with an average of around 3.5 km/ litre or around 10 mpg which for a truck like this with such a high centre of gravity and large frontal area was very commendable.

The tag GT with cars stands for Grand Touring or Gran Tourismo if you happen to be Italian, however while the Hino could never be considered in the same breath as a low slung GT sports coupe, we reckon the GT might actually stand for GO TO, because the Hino 4x4 really does go to just about anywhere Hino has done an excellent job with this versatile off road machine and we reckon it will make its opponents sit up and take notice as well as winning plenty for sales for Hino.

.

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Insurance products are provided by National Transport Insurance, a joint venture of the insurers Insurance Australia Limited trading as CGU Insurance ABN 11 000 016 722 AFSL 227681 and AAI Limited Trading as Vero Insurance ABN 48 005 297 807 AFSL 230859 each holding a 50% share. National Transport Insurance is administered on behalf of the insurers by its manager NTI Limited ABN 84 000 746 109 AFSL 237246.

Profile

AT JUST 20 YEARS OF AGE, PAUL COTTERILL WAS BITTEN BY THE TRUCKING BUG AND BEGAN REALLY LEARNING HOW TO DRIVE TRUCKS ON THE JOB. NOW IN HIS 50S, AND WITH A 34-YEAR CAREER BEHIND HIM, HE HAS REALISED A PASSION FOR TEACHING PEOPLE HOW TO DRIVE HEAVY TRUCKS, AND TO STEAL A LINE FROM CROSBY, STILLS AND NASH, ‘TEACH THEM WELL’. WE TAKE A LOOK AT COACHBIZ AND PAUL COTTERILL’S TRUCK DRIVING TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

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“ I DON’T DO THIS JUST FOR THE MONEY… I DO IT BECAUSE I WANT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE INDUSTRY; I WANT TO HELP PUT BETTER DRIVERS ON THE ROAD”

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or Paul Cotterill the passion for teaching people how to drive trucks is about more than the pure technical activity of driving it is also about and teaching the responsibility that comes with it, too. Paul took his passion to the next level, starting his own heavy vehicle training and assessing business, Coachbiz, based in Wollongong.

“In today’s fast-moving society, no one seems to have the time to do the full training anymore,” Paul said.

“I don’t do this just for the money… I do it because I want to make a difference in the industry; I want to help put better drivers on the road.”

Paul said he is probably stricter on his trainee drivers than others might be. But that means his drivers really earn their licenses, rather than just passing the test at the end of the day.

“I don’t train people on flat ground where it’s nice and easy, with no obstacles on the road.

“If you’re going to have to drive on the mountains, you’ve got to train on the mountains,” Paul said.

A typical day for Paul starts at 6.30am, with an entire day blocked out for one client. Nine hours later, the client hopefully walks away with an upgraded truck licence.

And Paul always goes above and beyond to make sure his clients come away from his training with as much as driving experience as possible—Paul offers extra training hours for free, lining up jobs for those entering the sector and offering his advice over the phone 24/7 if they ever need help.

“It’s quite a rewarding thing to be driving down the road and in the other direction, someone is waving at me because I licenced them a couple of years ago,” Paul noted.

There’s no doubt that to teach heavy truck driving, Paul needs a truck—and a big one at that. In 2019, Paul realised his second-hand European truck just wasn’t cutting it for him or his students anymore. He travelled up to Queensland to see Warren at Gold Coast Isuzu in Arundel, who traded in Paul’s old truck for a brand new 6-wheeler FXZ 240-350 with a tipper body.

Paul describes Coachbiz as an integrated heavy vehicle training and licensing provider.

“We focus on Truck Licensing and continuously development training to supply the Transport Industry with Drivers that are job ready not just pass a test,” said Paul.

The Isuzu six-Wheeler tipper is used for teaching and testing for HR Licences and for HC licences, Paul connects to a twin axle flat top trailer.

“We are committed to supply the latest equipment for safety and comfort,” he added.

We have learned a lot about driving, trucks, people and attitude over the years and the delivery of training is the key,” said Paul. “ No two people are the same and at we listen to our clients, find out there experience in the industry and deliver the right training for them.

“We place great emphasis on running a professional business, and so we ensure all our staff understand that without our clients we don’t have a business. We are only as good as the next client and exceeding their expectations, there are no bigheads in this yard,” Paul emphasises.

According to Paul, there were numerous reasons behind his decision to trade in his old truck for the Isuzu FXZ,

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“ QUITE OFTEN WHEN MY STUDENTS JUMP OUT OF THE TRUCK, THEY RAVE ABOUT HOW THEY HOPE THEY CAN GET A JOB IN SOMETHING LIKE THIS”

including the fact that his old European truck had expensive parts, rough welding and was also noisy on the road.

Paul wanted something that was uncomplicated, comfortable and easy to drive—without compromising on quality and reliability.

“Some of my clients have never been in a truck before and can be overwhelmed with too many unnecessary features on the dashboard,” Paul said of his observations.

“I wanted something with a clean design… I’ve found that going to the Isuzu from the other truck, the attention to detail by my students has doubled.”

Paul believes the cabin of the FXZ 240-350 is a big player in why his students love the truck so much. The steering wheel isn’t overly huge—but the cabin is spacious—so his students have lots of space to feel comfortable, and for longer sessions on the road, the Bluetooth hands-free system is perfect.

What also helps is that the turning circle is, according to Paul, surprisingly good for a truck the size of the FXZ. “Quite often when my students jump out of the truck, they rave about how they hope they can get a job in something like this.

“I never had that with the European truck.”

Paul loves that the turning indicator is situated on the right-hand side of the steering wheel (easy to remember) and also appreciates the important role Isuzu’s ‘spot’ mirrors play for the students.

“In training, no part of the vehicle can cross the control lines of an intersection, or it’s an instant fail.

“Isuzu has a mirror on the front so the driver can look down and see the footprint of the vehicle, and the left-hand side mirror looks into the blind spots of the vehicle.

“It’s those little things and attention to small details that really tick all the boxes for someone that’s starting out in the industry.”

Paul also needed a truck with enough pulling power to tow a 15-tonne plant trailer loaded with concrete blocks: the perfect simulation of a heavy combination vehicle. He found the 24-tonne GVM of the FXZ 240-350, matched with 257 kW of power @ 2,000 rpm, was just right for the job.

And as a final touch, the FXZ’s engine was set up with an Allison 6-speed auto gearbox—a design that Paul trusts.

“It’s a proven design that has been around for ages; it’s tolerant and has longevity.”

Trust in the reliability of his truck is also important to Paul—a breakdown means both lost work and letting down a client. It’s something he doesn’t have to worry about with the Isuzu FXZ. So far, there’s only been a minor issue, which Dwyer’s Truck Centre in Wollongong addressed within a day. This fast turnaround experience provided Paul with ongoing peace of mind.

Paul shared, “Throughout Australia, no matter where my truck is, I know there’s going to be a dealership close at hand to look after me.

“It doesn’t matter whether I’ve called in with the dealership or gone through Isuzu directly, the attention to detail and care factor are always there.

“In a day and age where things are fast and hard, to have that personal touch is a real dealmaker for me.”

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Operator

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COMDAIN INFRASTRUCTURE HAS THE JOB OF MAINTAINING AND REPAIRING SYDNEY WATER’S VAST SEWER NETWORK AND IT DOES THAT WITH A FLEET THAT COMPRISES OF MOSTLY HINO TRUCKS, WE DROPPED IN TO HAVE A LOOK AT IT TRUCK FLEET AND THE WORK THEY DO TO KEEP THE POO IN THE PIPES! www.truckandbus.net.au 045

Comdain Infrastructure, Operations Manager, Tony White

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he sprawling metropolis of Sydney is a vast continuum of humanity that stretches from the beaches in the East to the Blue Mountains in the West, almost to Wollongong in the South and to the Hawkesbury in the North.

In rough terms it is an area of around 12000 square kilometres with around 5.3 million human beings living there.

One of the demands of a civilisation like this is to ensure the sewer system is maintained and continues to work as it should, so that the inhabitants can stay safe and healthy while living there.

To do this there is a network of more than 25,000km of sewers operated by Sydney

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Water and the job of maintaining that vast network is handled by a maintenance contractor called Comdain Infrastructure, part of the publicly listed Service Stream organisation.

For Comdain Infrastructure, Operations Manager, Tony White, the need to have crews out in the field every day to answer calls for sewer repair and maintenance is a never ending demand and one that requires a fleet of small and manoeuvrable tippers and tool trucks for his field crews to keep things flowing, so to speak.

“In basic terms we dig holes and fix broken pipes, and obviously it is what flows through those pipes that makes things urgent, people don’t like sewage

leaking and I don’t blame them,” said Tony.

The fleet of small trucks is now mainly Hino, thanks to a recent fleet update which saw the company add two new 300 Series 616 2525 manual tippers, and a 300 Series 616 Automatic 2525 fitted with a Service Body, which were followed by three 500 Series Standard Cab FC1124 4350 automatic service trucks with another three currently in build.

Still on the fleet are also some older Hino tippers which Tony and his team inherited from the company’s Victorian operation, where they have been used on a Victorian gas network maintenance contract.

“They’re pretty old small Hino tippers, but they are still going strong and doing the job, but we will be trading them on new trucks shortly,” said Tony.

The fleet now numbers around a dozen trucks including some older Isuzus, however Tony says that in time they will all be traded in for a totally Hino fleet.

“When we became a part of Service Stream the fleet and equipment team had an orientation toward Hino trucks so we have aligned with that policy and we have no issue with that, “ said Tony.

“They are reliable, nice to drive, we really love the safety aspects, they do want they’re meant to and the drivers love them,” he added.

The two newest 300 series Hino tippers are manuals but the 300 series service body Hinos and the larger 500 Series, also with service bodies are autos, with the Aisin self shifter in the 300 and the Allison six speed in the 500 series.

Tony describes the service body models as tool trucks, which are basically just mobile work bases for the maintenance and repair crews in their constant travel around the Sydney metro area.

The 300 series are the 616 2525 models with manual transmissions in the tippers and automatics in the service body versions, while the larger 500 series standard cabs are FC1124 with leaf springs and Allison autos.

“We chose the manuals for the tippers because we felt they offered a bit more flexibility in the roles they fulfill, while the tool trucks were specced with autos because they are constantly in and out of city traffic and it makes it easier for the drivers, both safety wise and in terms of minimising fatigue,” said Tony.

From their base in Seven Hills in Sydney’s western suburbs the various crews spend their days split between regular maintenance jobs and urgent repair work on the sewer network.

There are 11 field crews with 70 field staff out on jobs on any one day.

“With all of our crews out on the road each day it is important that we have the

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safest trucks possible which is another reason why we have bought the Hinos, but also the Hinos have a good ride and are reliable so they don’t shake themselves to pieces.

“It’s obvious they are reliable particularly if you look at the old Hinos we inherited from ServiceStream, they had been used on an old gas network maintenance contract job down in Victoria and they are about 18 years old but still going strong,” said Tony.

“We are about to retire those trucks for new ones but the longevity proves their build quality and reliability,” he added.

Since it won the contract in 2016,

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Comdain Infrastructure’s role with Sydney Water involves maintaining, repairing and upgrading damaged sections of the existing sewer network and related infrastructure.

This work includes pipeline repair with patching and relay work, manhole inspection and rehabilitation, running CCTV inspection on various assets, installation of water and sewer infrastructure on small subdivisions and associated minor civil construction and survey work including service line repairs, making and extensive job list for the field crews and their trucks.

As an indicator of the extent of the

contract, Comdain Infrastructure completed more than 1,600 work orders across a diverse works program, requiring multiple levels of service response in the first year it held the contract alone.

Comdain was established in 1962, and currently has a work force of around 600 personnel, across 13 operational centres and is acknowledged as a national leader in delivering critical gas and water services.

With Comdain’s largely Hino fleet on the road every day ensuring the Sydney sewer network functions as it should, it is clear that the trucks are doing a lot more than just going through the motions!

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Road Test

SILVERADO STRIKES GOLD THERE IS PROBABLY A REASON WHY OUR COUSINS IN THE US CALL VEHICLES WITH A TRAY BEHIND THE CABIN TRUCKS, AND NOT UTES AS WE DO. THAT IS PROBABLY BECAUSE, UNLIKE OUR UTES, THEIR PICKUPS ARE MIGHTY BIG AND ARE TRUCKS IN REALITY. WE SAMPLED CHEVROLET’S BEST SELLING MODEL , THE SILVERADO RECENTLY AND REALLY LOVED THIS BIG LANDSHIP. 050 www.truckandbus.net.au

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hile climbing aboard Chevy’s Silverado 1500 for the first time can be a little daunting for Aussies used to a dual cab one tonner or a Holden or Falcon ute, the reality is you quickly adapt to the size and the impressive performance, handling and ride, not to mention the amazing space they deliver in the cab and in the load bed.

The extraordinary thing about this Big American is that it is the tiddler in the Chevy Silverado range, with the larger 2500 and humungous 3500 sitting above this dual cab model. The 3500 truly is a truck and is bigger than some of the light duty trucks sold by Japanese truck makers here in Australia.

The Silverado 1500 LTZ we were testing, like every other Chevy that comes to Australia, starts life as a good ole’ US left hand drive pick-up and is imported and converted to right hand drive right here in Australia by the Walkinshaw organisation.

In the States the pickup sector of the market is the highest selling vehicle segment in the country, led by rival Ford’s F Series with Chrysler’s RAM brand is also near the top of the overall sales charts as well.

Down under it is more a specialty market, not least because of the much higher prices as a result of having to convert to RHD after it arrives here.

While Stateside you might pay around $US60,000($AUD80,000) for an equivalent LTZ 1500, here in OZ the same truck will set you back around $AUD113,000 before on road costs and exploration of the extensive option list.

Saying the 1500 LTZ is the ‘tiddller’ in the Silverado line up is a bit of an misnomer, given it is 5585 mm long and 2000mm wide and is just shy of 2600kg in weight, so negotiating the Westfield parking lot is a challenge, but not impossible.

While most of the Japanese sourced dual cab pick-ups use diesels the power plant beneath the bonnet in the Silverado is a traditional, normally aspirated 6.2 litre V8 producing 313 kW of power and a massive 624 Nm of torque, which helps this large machine to easily lift its skirts for a dash when called for.

Despite its size it can accelerate from 0-100km/h in a very respectable time of around 5.5 seconds, which given it weighs more than 2.5 tonnes is quite amazing.

The price you pay for experiencing that sort of acceleration is the fuel gauge drops in the other direction almost as

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quickly. However when driven carefully the Silverado can be surprisingly frugal.

We had the average fuel consumption down to around 10.5 litres/100km on a cruising highway trip up the coast with the big 6.2 litre purring along at a shade over 1000rpm, barely ticking over and the Dynamic Fuel Management system which seamlessly and automatically deactivates up to six of the eight cylinders on cruise.

This system is so good you barely know It is happening. Along with that there is stop-start technology that saves fuel burn while stationary at the lights or in traffic.

However the major key to the impressive performance and fuel efficiency is the 10-speed automatic transmission, which in one of the great pieces of corporate cooperation, is a joint development with arch rival Ford, and is basically the same auto found in the Ford Mustang and a bunch of other vehicles from both makers.

The 10-speed auto is smooth, quiet, efficient and shifts without fuss no matter what situation. The Silverado gearstick is a throwback to another era though, and is in fact a column shift, which is fine when you get used to it, but a little cumbersome to start with. There a manual shift function, but strangely and it is activated by a button midway along the gear selector, and it only works in L1 not in D. Again once used to it, this becomes second nature, but it just takes a little getting used to.

Give that big 6.2 litre bent eight a bootfull from a standing start and it rockets down the road with a hearty V8 growl and impressive aplomb.

Our test Silverado was a Z71, a long time GM code for added performance models, which in this instance particularly means enhanced suspension. However while it boasts sports car like acceleration don’t expect sports car handling. This is after all a big and heavy pick up and when pushed hard in corners you realise it takes a lot of physics to get it around the bend. Having said that it generally handles with a flat and controlled nature, but the damping is still a little on the soft side for Australian taste. A run across the Bell’s Line of Road and on to Bathurst and Oberon revealed it can easily cruise along at the speed limit.

The latest Silverado 1500 rides on GM’s new T1XX platform and is 200 or so kilos lighter than its previous model thanks to the new platform and better chassis engineering and design has made the big pick up much better dynamically than previous generations we have driven in the USA. It is also aided in Australia by the fact

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that the Walkinshaw organisation uses its store of engineering smarts to apply its own suspension tune to the Silverado, drawing on the expertise it applied to generations of HSV improved Holdens.

On smooth tarmac the big beast handles particularly well, although on rougher broken bitumen and on gravel roads there can so signs of scuttle shake and excessive judder when unladen, however you can’t forget this is a pick up and its built for a load so when viewed through this frame, it performs pretty impressively.

Our test vehicle also boasted an optional Brembo brake package which significantly improved the brake performance with terrific feel through the pedal and consistent stopping power, a factor which is vital in a 2.5 tonne vehicle with this level of urge. The Silverado sits on big 20 inch alloy rims, which allow plenty of room for the massive Brembo discs and also gives the vehicle better handling and ride.

Let’s not forget this is a truck and out behind the big spacious cab is a big spacious load bed which can haul a genuine 712 kg payload while more important for some is the fact that it can tow up to 3500kg with the standard 50mm tow ball or up to 4500kg with a 70 mm ball. That alone makes the Silverado and other American pick-ups hugely attractive to caravan hauling grey nomads. This is further enhanced by an integrated adjuster knob for trailer braking positioned on the dash.

The rear ute tub is lined with a tough sprayed on black ripple coating that resists damage and protect the steel tub underneath. The rear tailgate also features an electric open and close function, so one touch on the tailgate button or on the remote key fob and it can be lowered and raised with ease, handy if you have an armful of heavy items to load into the tub.

The Silverado has selectable 4WD which GM calls Autotrac, with both the normal 2WD and a two speed electronic transfer case for 4WD. We didn’t test the off road capabilities save for poking down a wet gravel road but the sheer size of the Silverado could limit the places it can go in the Australian bush, but this is a surprising machine and it may well exceed expectations.

Interior space is abundant in the Silverado, in fact if there was any more space inside this machine NASA would be needed to manage it. But seriously the room available is tremendous with comfortable room for five large adults, masses of storage space and legroom that could easily cope with five NBA players.

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At one stage on our run across the Bells Line of Road, the rear seat occupant joked with the front seat passenger asking him to move the seat forward because he “ only had about a metre of legroom to play with”. That is not quite true but squashed is something you won’t feel in inside the Silverado cabin.

A clever innovation in the rear is the fold up seat squab, which can free passenger area for luggage or cargo inside the cab rather than in the tray at the back. There are also heaps of storage bins and holes around the cabin with a pile of USB charging points and a wireless charging pad in the centre console, however we had trouble making this work reliably during our time in the Chevy. The centre console between the two front seats has enough room in it to stage a Barnham and Baileys

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Circus performance, well maybe not quite that much but it can stow an awful lot of stuff.

The audio/ infotainment system revolve around an 8.0-inch LED touchscreen coupled to a superb Bose sound system which also boasts Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. There are audio and mode control buttons on the back of the steering wheel spokes allowing the driver to control things without taking hands off the wheel and also there are round dials below the unit itself on the dash that allow easy adjustment on the fly.

Driving the Silverado for a week makes you realise just how far US automotive offerings have come, particularly in the decade since the GFC, when a near bankrupt GM had to re-focus and start delivering globally competitive machinery.

About 30 years ago this writer tested the last of the F150 pickups sold locally

by Ford. It was truly terrible, lacking refinement and manners in equal measure.

Local vehicles were so much better in every way. The headline on that F150 test was ‘This Old Cowboy has had its Day’.

This may not be Silverado’s first Rodeo but it also isn’t a broken down old bronco rider either.

Yes, sure the big Chevy is an acquired taste and won’t suit everyone. But if you are looking for more room, towing capacity as well as luxury from a ute and you’re not worried about a $110,000 plus price tag then the Silverado is a big, honest, and likeable option to the smaller Japanese dual cabs and if you are not worried about its large footprint on the planet then it ticks a lot of boxes.

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LCV

T

he LDV brand has been around on the Australian market for almost a decade now and has found a degree of popularity with the original V90 van offering, as well as the smaller G10 model, but the new Deliver 9 large van takes things to a new level.

The Deliver 9 has hit the market with an extremely attractive price tag and a raft of high specifications, safety features and technology that match the far more expensive Euro counterparts.

That is exactly where the local distributor, Ateco is aiming the new LDV. It has the Euros in its sights and it is leaving nothing on the table in the quest to take a big share of the lucrative van market.

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Along with a range of sizes in the large van, LDV is also offering a cab chassis range along with both an 11 or 14 seat minibus.

We have long pondered the way some new brands take on the tough Australian market and in particular brands from places like China , as LDV is. As students of history we remember when Japanese vehicles started to arrive here in the 1960s and we are often amazed at how companies arriving to conquest the market are either ignorant or reject the lessons of history. Aussie buyers proved all those decades ago with the Japanese that they are willing to take a chance on a new brand from a new country, if the value proposition is right.

If the price gap is wide enough then buyers here will give it a try. They proved that with the likes of Toyota, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi in the 60s and 70s and with Hyundai and Kia in the 80s and 90s.

This works if the new cheaper brands from new places deliver on reliability and performance. We reckon if the price gap is about 20 to 25 per cent lower than the established brands, then enough people will give it a try. Again this has been shown with Great Wall when it first started selling its utes here, interestingly also through Ateco, the same distributor now flogging LDV. It worked in the beginning because the price and dealer network was right with Ateco.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE DELIVER 9 TAKES THE CHINESE BUILD LDV BRAND INTO A WHOLE NEW VAN SECTOR, UP AGAINST THE MARKET HEAVYWEIGHTS SUCH AS THE MERCEDES BENZ SPRINTER, RENAULT’S MASTER, FIAT’S DUCATO, THE FORD TRANSIT AND THE VW CRAFTER. WE LIVED WITH THE LDV FOR A WEEK AND WE CAME AWAY IMPRESSED.

Since then Great Wall started its own operation, prices rose and the sales plummeted and the value proposition was not good enough to prise buyers away from the established Japanese utes.

That is a long winded explanation of where LDV sits in the market and also to underline that its price point and value proposition establishes a rational and cogent reason for buyers to consider what is still an unproven and emerging brand.

LDV claimed during the launch that the Deliver 9 costs 60 per cent less than the Mercedes Benz Sprinter price wise, even though it boasts an array of features, technology and size specs that put it on the same footing as the market leading Sprinter.

LDV has justified this figure by using an equation that divides the van’s cubic capacity and payload by the recommended purchase price of $42,095 for the long wheelbase Mid-Roof model, coming up with a cost of $3,837 per cubic metre of volume and $25.21 per kg of payload, which makes it something around 60 per cent more cost effective mark compared with the Benz Sprinter. That is a pretty compelling number, in fact it is a compelling factor when compared on price alone.

The Deliver 9 pricing undercuts key rivals by some considerable amounts, with the $42,095 entry price for the Deliver 9 LWB Mid Roof manual and LWB cab chassis manual under cutting the entry level

Renault Master by $3395, the entry level Fiat Ducato by $4205, the Peugeot Boxer by $5395, Volkswagen’s Crafter by $7195, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter by $7625 and Ford’s Transit by a whopping $8595.

Power comes from LDV’s own two-litre, four-cylinder turbo-diesel which pumps out maximum power of 110kW and torque of 375Nm from 1,500rpm. The turbo-diesel is available with stop/start engine technology, and is mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, while power is fed to the road via the rear-wheel drive layout.

For the test we had the six speed auto, and despite the fact that it has either one or three gears less than the autos in the

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Benz Sprinter, depending on model, it does a pretty good job.

The power and torque is more than adequate, although we only had a relatively small load in the van at any time during our test. The engine proved to have excellent response, very good flexibility and ample torque to cope with Sydney’s hilly suburban streets.

The LDV’s value proposition is bolstered by an extensive suite of safety equipment including Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), (which only operates at a speed of up to 30km/h), Bosch’s latest generation Electronic Stability Control (ESC) system, Lane Departure Warning and an extensive array of six airbags, all features that fleet managers and companies are demanding in these times of stricter OH&S standards.

The Delivery 9 also comes with heated electric remote control front mirrors, air conditioning, a multi-function steering wheel, adaptive cruise control on auto models, a three-seat cab layout, an eightway adjustable driver’s seat, rear fog lights, halogen headlights, and a wide view rear overhead reversing camera.

The huge 10.1 inch Infotainment screen is the centre piece of the audio system, HVAC controls and other functions and comes with Apple CarPlay, although interestingly no Android Auto at this stage. This all works OK but is not exceptional.

We say it all works OK because while

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it all works, there are times when the infotainment screen interface is a little clunky and lacks an intuitive feel. This is compared with its Euro opponents, but we have to say the advance on this LDV is a massive leap ahead of its predecessors and other Chinese machines, including LDV’s own ute the T60. Having said that the Chinese electronics gurus at parent company SAIC are clearly working hard because the similar Infotainment system in the latest MG we drove recently, is a leap ahead again compared with the Delivery 9.

There is also the obligatory Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, as well as two USB ports, and a 4.2-inch multifunction instrument display in front of the driver with a digital speedometer and large and easy to read instruments.

The load area is very versatile with a 1.2m wide side door, and 180° opening rear doors. However one small design flaw we discovered to our own pain and a large gash on our schnoz, is the LDV badge on the rear barn doors. Problem is the rear LDV badge, which is a large oval emblem, doesn’t split down the middle.

The consequence of this was a busted nose when this boofhead opened the rear doors and didn’t compensate for the large badge jutting out, almost bringing the NRL HIA doctor out to assess us!

Most other vans split the badge down the middle so that when the doors are closed the badge appears whole but when open

both sides are contained in the door, so they can neither break someone’s nose or be accidentally snapped off.

Small point but blood was spilled!

Our test van was equipped with the $1,500 Option Pack that adds rear doors that open to 236°, along with Blind Spot Detection, Lane Change Assist, and keyless entry.

The load area is really well configured and will take two standard Australian pallets between the wheel arches, and three Euro pallets. The long wheelbase Mid Roof Deliver 9 offers a cubic capacity of 10.97cubic metres and a payload of 1,670kg for the manual and 1640 for the auto version as tested ( it’s 1500kg for the MWB, 1670kg for the LWB mid roof manual, 1640kg in the LWB high roof manual and 1620kg for the LWB high roof auto).

The cargo area is fitted with eight tiedown points, plus really tough rubber chequerplate flooring and LED lighting which gives great coverage and lights up all corners of the massive load area.

When it comes to choice of colours you can have Blanc White or Pacific Blue , the latter setting you back an extra $500. That is it there are no other colours, but LDV reckons that most van buyers choose white and many fleets wrap vehicles these days In terms of appearance, it is a van and as such it could never be considered a piece of automotive sculpture, however it isn’t ugly and has a passing resemblance

to the Ford Transit, but does have its own individuality.

The cockpit area is well designed.

It is comfortable, neat, well laid out and in terms of ergonomics and controls is easy to use and live with, save for the aforementioned infotainment system and its minor foibles.

The cabin has plentiful storage space which is to be expected in a vehicle that is often operated as the mobile office for many a tradie or delivery driver. It has huge door pockets incorporating bottle holders and additional storage, while the middle seat back flips down and is equipped with an elasticated strap for documents and a pair of cup holders, making it quite practical. On the top outer edges of the dash there are a pair of high-mounted cup/bottle holders, because after all you can never get enough places to hold the coffee cups and drink bottles.

Above the windscreen there is also a shelf for holding folders and paperwork etc. although there isn’t an indented tray to hold papers on the top of the dash as there is in many vans and utes these days.

The driver’s seat has eight way adjustment which makes up to a small extent for the fact that the steering wheel has only rake and tilt adjustment but lacks reach adjustment. We didn’t have too much trouble getting a comfortable position but it may not be the same for everyone.

The driver’s seat has a fold down and

adjustable arm rest on its left hand side, while the The bench seat on the passenger side is ample for two adults and under the seat cushion there is another handy, hidden storage box, which can be accessed by folding each of the two seat cushions up independently.

On the road the Deliver 9 is fuss free and easy to drive. It’s not a daunting vehicle to drive, despite its size, and is surprisingly manoeuvrable and agile, and the steering and ride are well tuned and sorted.

The Deliver 9 uses Macpherson struts on the front and a leaf sprung rear end, and although we only drove a relatively short distance with a load onboard, the ride quality didn’t change very much, laden or unladen, and is the equal of any van in the segment when it comes to road manners.

The six-speed auto worked well, shifting smoothly and easily, fitting the engine’s torque band on uphill climbs and under acceleration.

At the fuel pumps the Deliver 9 was reasonably impressive and for the week we had the van it recorded a respectable average of 10.4 ltr./100km, which given the frontal area of a van like this was a good result. With the 80 litre tank you should eek out a range of around 800 km between refills, and being a Euro 5 it doesn’t need AdBlue, which is convenient if not as environmentally friendly plus.

LDV distributor Ateco has given the van a comprehensive Capped Price

Servicing program and specifies the first service at 5000km, with all following services at 30,000km or one year, whichever comes first. LDV says that for three years or 95,000kms the Deliver 9 will cost about $1,895 to service. The van also gets the protection of a three year/160,000km warranty.

That is not as long as some of the other vans in the sector with five-year/ unlimited kilometre coverage for the Ford Transit, the Mercedes Sprinter and VW, while the Renault Master boasts five years/200,000km and Fiat’s Ducato a three year/200,000km coverage.

Even factoring in the warranty differences and potentially lower resale values you would have to have a lot of breakdowns and repairs and lose a lot on trade in for the price advantage to be eroded. If you plan to turn the LDV over every three years under its standard warranty, we reckon you could be a long way in front on price alone.

The fact is the LDV is well priced, and doesn’t give anything away to the other more expensive vans in terms of driveability and practicality.

It is a whole lot cheaper, but doesn’t feel cheap to sit in or drive, and has some features that are ahead of its opponents.

The LDV Deliver 9 is certainly worth consideration if you are after a large van, this just could be the first ‘unChinese’ Chinese van to arrive and could save you a lot of money.

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Company Car

LET’S HAVE A FIESTA ANOTHER WEEK ANOTHER NEW THREE CYLINDER HOT HATCH, OR THAT IS WHAT IT SEEMS LIKE, WITH JUST ABOUT EVERY MAJOR AUTO MAKER SWITCHING THEIR SMALL CARS TO A TRI CYLINDER LAYOUT AND BOY WHAT A PERFORMANCE REVELATION THEY ARE PROVING TO BE. WE SLIPPED BEHIND THE WHEEL OF THE POCKET ROCKET FORD FIESTA ST FOR AN EXCITING LITTLE ROAD TEST.

O

ur encounter with the new Fiesta ST finally came late last year , almost 18 months after the previous Fiesta ST had disappeared from Ford’s local menu.

The new Fiesta ST is all new and was developed and built at Ford in Germany where the company used the legendary Nürburgring as its development track, so no one could question its DNA and credentials as a hot hatch performance machine.

It’s becoming increasingly crowded in the tiny hot hatch market with a range of machines clustered around the Fiesta ST’s price and specification spectrum.

With just one spec level in the Fiesta ST in Australia and a rrp of $31,990, the Ford is close by the VW Polo GTi at $32,490, Toyota’s new Yaris, Suzuki’s Swift Sport

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and Hyundai’s i20 N. The only options available are a sunroof at $2500 and metallic paint which will cost you $650.

Ford has positioned the Fiesta ST with just one spec with all the fruit and technology, which includes all the with latest safety technology including autonomous emergency braking, speed sign recognition, lane-keep assist, blind-spot warning and cross-traffic alert at the rear.

We didn’t think we would like the whole three cylinder thing because we are old enough to remember three cylinder Daihatsus, which only a mother would love, but with the latest engine technology and design, the little Fiesta ST has a real performance edge from its 1.5 litre turbocharged configuration. So effective is the engine that it pumps out more power

and torque than the 1.6 litre four cylinder Fiesta ST that came before it.

That means the Fiesta puts out 147kW of power and 290Nm of torque which is phenomenal really and about 13kw and 50 Nm more than old ST or about the same as the turbo two litre four cylinder Polo GTi. It is an exciting little engine that oozes performance charisma, with an exhaust that pops and crackles and really slingshots the car down the road with enormous urge. This is helped by the three mode switching that delivers a choice of normal, sport or track performance levels.

Even in normal mode the Fiesta ST can be very rewarding drive with plenty of torque on tap across the rev range.

The Sport and Track modes sharpen the throttle response while the bi-mode

exhaust switches to a slightly louder more rorty note that delivers those tell-tale pops and crackles between shifts and in throttle off situations.

It also boasts a shift light and launch control and a digital speed readout making it a special for track days and high performance driving situations.

Another standard feature that enhances the Fiesta ST’s performance credentials is a mechanical limited-slip differential that Euro buyers have to pay around $1700 for.

Fitted to the smart alloy wheels are amazing 205/45R18 Michelin Sport 4 tyres that lift the road holding and sure footedness of the Fiesta to another level. The 18 inch alloys also gives buyers the ability to easily fit semi slicks for track days, if that is there desire for this

little hot hatch.

The only transmission available is a six-speed manual as it was on the last ST a couple of years ago. This time the Ford engineers have slightly lengthened the ratios, but all the same acceleration times are pretty impressive whether you believe Ford’s quoted 6.5 sec 0-0100km/h time or not. The best we could get was 6.8 seconds but who is going to quibble over a tenth of a second here or there. It is still a quick bit of kit.

The reality is the Fiesta ST’s mid-range oomph and flexibility makes it a joy to pilot along a challenging and twisty road.

It’s strong torque from low revs means you are never really lacking grunt and a quick snick to a lower gear puts you back in the torque band if you are struggling.

The electronically assisted power steering is quick and precise with a nice linear feel, most importantly it’s not nervous or twitchy like so many small hot hatches. Working in consort with those grippy Michelins the package is a rewarding driving experience when the road gets twisty and interesting.

The little Ford features twin-tube suspension which offers very good control, and although it is on the firmer side it is not too uncomfortable and is quite easy to live with, but let’s face it this is a sporty little rocket and if you are looking for an armchair ride, you’ve bought the wrong car.

When you jump on the picks the brakes bites down hard and the car squats with a controlled and assuring grip on the

www.truckandbus.net.au 061

road slowing and setting it up for the next corner. It is an element that makes the Fiesta so much fun to drive.

Punch the launch control button on the steering wheel, set track on the performance mode control in the console and its 5,4,3,2,1, we have lift off, with the electronics taking over to limit wheel spin and deliver optimum launch down the road. It is too much fun not to try!

You would imagine that fuel economy wouldn’t be an issue in a `1.5 litre three potter and you would be right. Our time in the car saw economy ranged from as low as 6.2 litres/100km at cruise speed and the worse we saw was around 8.7litres/100km in city and suburban streets.

And if you thought three cylinders was starting to sound like a motor cycle, well then wait till you hear that the Fiesta donk actually cuts out a cylinder and runs on two at cruise and when full power isn’t needed. It is virtually imperceptible and we struggled to know when the fuel saving measure kicked in. Gotta love modern day electronic engine control.

Behind the wheel of the Fiesta ST you are cossetted in a pair of extremely comfortable Recaro buckets that offer

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superb support and a great driving position with good adjustment The Fiesta also has a great dash and the interior has a strong sporty feel, thanks to the Recaros and some nice touches around the cab.

In the middle of the dash is an eight inch hi-res touchscreen controlling the excellent Bang and Olufsen audio system which boasts Apple CarPlay and Android Auto along with an integrated sat-nav system.

The Fiesta boast a big front screen and delivers great visibility all around and unlike the previous ST, this Fiesta is a four door and that is a whole lot more convenient for letting back seat passengers in and out or just throwing packages and groceries in at the shops.

Speaking of back seat passengers, there is a surprising amount of room and enough for two reasonably sized adults in the back making the ST a very handy pocket rocket.

Being a hatch there is a lot of practicality for a small car and in fact boot capacity is a capacious 276 litres with the back seats up, or 311 litres if the 60:40 split fold rears are in the fully down position.

Unfortunately like so many small cars (and a few big ones), the Fiesta only gets

a space saver spare. I understand the dilemma faced by engineers in designing small cars, particularly those with relatively small boots like the ST, but in a country like ours with roads like ours space savers just don’t cut the mustard in our opinion, and should only be considered as a last resort, even run flats are better than the dangerous compromise of a space saver.

Ford offers a five-year/unlimitedkilometre warranty and the service intervals for the Fiesta are set at 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. Ford tells us that for the first four services the cost is set at $299 while in year five you’ll be up for $400, which is not too bad in the bigger scheme of things.

Overall we loved the little Fiesta ST for a whole lot of reasons, for a start its great little three cylinder engine, the tight and rewarding handling, the sharp steering, great brakes and, how could anyone not love those all-encompassing Recaros. Ford in Europe has long been a master of small car engineering and that is the case with the Fiesta, just a pity that locally the Ford team struggles to convince Aussie buyers of this.

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MONEY MATTERS PAUL CLITHROE RELY ON SUPER OR CONTROL YOUR INVESTMENT STRATEGY?

T

o raise or not to raise? That’s the question facing the Morrison government as it grapples with whether or not to increase employer-paid super contributions.

From July, your boss’s compulsory super contributions are set to steadily rise from 9.5 per cent of your base salary, to 12 per cent by 2025. On one hand, that means more money going into retirement nest eggs. The downside is that right now, some businesses aren’t in a financial position to pay extra super contributions, and a rise in compulsory super could see wages growth slow even further.

The issue can boil down to whether we want more money in retirement – or more to live on today?

Here’s my take. First up, I understand that changes to super just deepen reform fatigue. In the almost 30 years since the Keating government introduced the Superannuation Guarantee, the rules around super have been continually tweaked and fine-tuned.

That said, I have always maintained that super is good for us. It’s a form of compulsory saving, which has seen the value of Australia’s retirement savings reach $3 trillion in 2021. And according to Industry Super Australia, a backdown on the rise in employer-paid super contributions could see a 30-year-old couple on median wages miss out on an extra $170,000 in their final retirement nest egg.

However, super is not the only way to save for retirement. Along with superannuation and the age pension, voluntary savings (which includes paying off a home) form the so-called ‘third pillar’ of retirement income.

Growing a portfolio of investments outside of super can provide a greater sense of control about how and where your money is invested. It pays to choose wisely though. A rental property may be familiar turf, but the yields can be low. You can’t just sell a bedroom or

two when you need extra cash. And while long term capital growth can be strong, you need to sell the property in its entirety to tap into these gains.

This is why I’m a big believer in the value of adding share-based investments, in particular exchange traded funds (ETFs), to a long term portfolio. ETFs charge low fees, can pay regular returns, and provide instant diversification to help shield investors from downturns in a particular industry or sector.

Let me stress, I have always been a fan of super. But the disconnect between ‘me today’ and ‘future me in retirement’ means lots of people have limited interest in their super savings. Growing your own portfolio of investments can provide an incentive to build wealth for tomorrow without worries about shifting super rules that can force a last minute change in your retirement income strategy.

MEANTIME ‘SAVING MORE’ IS A COMMON NEW YEAR GOAL, BUT ONLY THREE OUT OF FIVE AUSTRALIANS CONSIDER THEMSELVES NATURAL SAVERS. THE REST ARE SELF-PROFESSED SPENDERS. Saving money often draws the short straw in personal money management though COVID has changed this. A study by ME Bank found one in two Australians say the pandemic has forced them to change their financial focus, and this saw household savings surge by more than $100 billion in 2020.

Nonetheless, saving doesn’t come easily for all of us. According to Finder, two out of five Australians admit to being enthusiastic spenders, and it’s often our money mindset rather than personal income that acts as a barrier to saving.

Humans tend to place more value on things we can enjoy today relative

to future benefits. This can be especially relevant in today’s low rate environment when savings aren’t rewarded by high returns. Happily, there are ways to hit the re-set button and make growing savings a priority.

A simple step is to pay yourself first.

With this strategy you only make one decision: what proportion of your income can you save? If you’re confident you can save five per cent, have that amount transferred into your savings account before you can spend it. Setting up a regular transfer of funds makes this easy. You’re free to spend the rest of your income how you choose – just don’t touch the five per cent!

Consider giving your savings account an identity that matches your goal. If you’re a first home buyer for example, try nicknaming your savings account ‘My first home’. It helps to reinforce what the money is for, which can deter you from dipping into the account.

It also helps to understand the psychology of spending. Research shows that ‘shoppers high’ is a thing.

But it’s the process of deciding what to buy rather than making the purchase that releases the feel-good chemical dopamine. This being the case, aim to walk away from impulse buys – if only for a few minutes. Weigh up whether the purchase will really add to your life. If the answer is ‘no’, keep walking.

If you’re saving for long term goals, think about spreading your money across a variety of investments – not just cash accounts. Exchange traded funds make diversification easy at very little cost.

It may mean taking on more risk, but the reward is higher long-term returns, and that can mean reaching personal goals sooner.

Paul Clitheroe is Chairman of InvestSMART, Chair of the Ecstra Foundation and chief commentator for Money Magazine.

ALL IT TAKES At Kumho, we deliver a smoother, safer ride for you and your cargo – on tyres designed to perform in all Australian conditions. Whether it’s a light load or heavy highway haulage, our commitment to quality will deliver you great value and a safer tomorrow.

And like a circle, it never ends. We’ll continue to look for new ways to make your experience better. It’s just what we do.

KUMHO TYRE. BETTER, ALL-WAYS.

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BUILT TO DRIVE. READY FOR ANYTHING. THAT’S ANOTHER HINO

NEW HINO 300 SERIES. AUSTRALIA’S MOST POWERFUL JAPANESE LIGHT-DUTY TRUCKS. XAVIER_HINO37592.3/D

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and enhanced levels of interior ergonomics, cab comfort and innovative technology? Then the new 300 Series is the truck you’ve been waiting for. With an expanded model line-up, the new 721 models joins the popular 921 models and delivers

class-leading combination of power and torque courtesy of the high horsepower Hino J05 engine. With a Gross Vehicle

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The new Hino 300 Series. Find out more at hino.com.au.