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56 LCV: HEIRLOOM DIAMOND

Mitsubishi’s ageing Triton is a conundrum. On one hand it represents excellent value and stands out from the other dual cab utes while delivering good performance and comfort, but on the other hand it is an ageing platform with some distinct handicaps compared with newer rivals. We climbed aboard the Triton GSR for a 2000km drive and tow test and found this ageing Diamond is still a valued heirloom of the ute market.

60 COMPANY CAR: ELECTRIC DREAM

Electric cars are the topic de jour it seems. Every second person we speak to says their next car will be electric, but price and supply appear to be the biggest hurdles standing in the way of many more people steering down the zero emission route. We take Hyundai’s superb Ionic 5 for a spin and find a car that is fabulous to drive and live with, if only we could easily secure one to buy.

At Caltex, we are committed to providing the most advanced premium industrial lubrication technologies available for every kind of operation - from mining to agriculture, power generation to construction, trucking to global marine.

No matter what challenges you might face, the journey will be Smoother, Better, Together with Caltex.

Talk to your local distributor or find out more about Caltex fuels and lubricants.

www.caltex.com/au/business-solutions

Government Electric Vehicle Strategy Lacks Commercial Vision

So finally the Australian Government has been dragged kicking and screaming into the present day and has been big enough to introduce a National Electric Vehicle Strategy, that will hopefully enable this country to at least try to make up ground on the other developed nations around the world.

Let’s face it we have lost 10 years, thanks to idealogues who wanted to continue to prosecute the climate wars and climate change denial. As a result Australia is now around a decade behind the rest of the world when it comes to a whole lot of emission challenges, most particularly with our vehicles.

However we have to say it was rather disappointing to have the Federal Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen launch the new Federal Strategy for electric vehicles, only for there be no mention of commercial vehicles in the main part of the statement.

There was a mention of hydrogen highways refuelling strategy, which was on page 63 of the 68 page main strategy, but nothing else.

The day after the strategy was announced and following criticism from the HVIA and from local manufacturer Volvo, which wants to assemble electric trucks here in the next few years, the government via a spokesperson for Transport Minister Catherine King told us that the strategy does not include heavy commercials over 3.5tonne.

Surely a document entitled the National Electric Vehicle Strategy by implication covers all vehicles nationally? It wasn’t called the National Electric Car Strategy or the National Electric Ute Strategy, it was the National Electric Vehicle Structure.

A spokesperson for the minister for transport, Catherine King, told us the Strategy focuses specifically on light passenger and commercial vehicles under 3.5 tons as they are the major source of road transport emissions.

This is despite the fact that we understood from figures, that although making up only about five per cent of the national vehicle fleet, heavy commercial vehicles account for around 25 per cent of the nation’s vehicle emissions

“The Strategy is a starting point to achieve net zero road transport emissions, giving us a national framework to coordinate across Australian governments and prioritise actions to decarbonise road transport over time,” the government spokesperson told us.

“Plans to further reduce emissions across transport, particularly in heavy vehicle, marine and aviation sectors, will be led by a net zero unit that been established in the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts,” they added.

The Government said it will continue to support the decarbonisation of heavy vehicles like the Team Global Express EV trial, claimed to be the largest trial of a heavy electric logistics fleet in Australia with ARENA, which has helped fund the trial, and investment into hydrogen highways program in NSW, which was mentioned briefly toward the end of the 68 page strategy document, and which it says is to help industry fleets acquire heavy hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and construct renewable hydrogen refuelling stations, located on major freight routes across Australia, starting with the Hume Highway.

The Government has indicated that it has adopted Australian Design Rule 80/04, which will phase in Euro VI noxious emissions standards for new heavy vehicles from 1st November 2024. ADR 80/04 it says will help support the decarbonisation of the heavy vehicle sector by making it more viable for manufacturers to offer cleaner and more fuel-efficient engines available overseas.

The government has also indicated that ADR80/04 also provides a pathway for electric and hydrogen fuel cell to demonstrate compliance with noxious emissions standards, so they can legally operate at the same mass limits as new diesel trucks under the Heavy Vehicle National Law.

This last point is a contentious issue with some truck makers looking to bring in electric zero emission trucks, both BEV and FCEV Hydrogen vehicles, given in Europe and some other developed regions of the world, authorities have offered weight allowances for electric trucks to overcome the weight penalty they bring with them.

Given Australia has waited so long for a National Electric Vehicle Strategy then surely it could have looked at the entire vehicle market holistically, particularly given that heavy commercials account for such a large slice of the emissions that we are trying to curb.

We are sure that there will be all sorts of political duck shoving over this but the future of our planet, Australia’s competitiveness on the world stage and a clear path forward for zero emission trucks and buses is too important to play politics with.

Meantime in this issue we drive new trucks from Scania with the new Super line up, Iveco with its S-Way and we road test a Freightliner Cascadia 126 which answers those who doubt the Cascadia’s line haul 26 metre B Double credentials. We travelled to NZ to take a look at Hyundai’s Xcient Hydrogen Fuel Cell truck which is being pressed into service with NZ Post and we test the latest MAN TGX. All that and a whole lot more in this issue of Transport & Trucking Australia, so we hope you enjoy the ride and the read.

JON THOMSON