It’s Electrifying!

In-depth

16 Jun

Above: A KW without smoke stacks! What is the world coming to?

Last year I was at the IAA Truck Show in Hanover, Germany – the world’s largest truck show. I was frankly gobsmacked at the plethora of electric trucks on display there. Over 80% of the product had electric motive power. This equates to dozens, if not hundreds of trucks.

By comparison, the last Brisbane Truck Show in 2021 had from memory, just 3. There was the Fuso eCanter – the first electric truck to go on sale in Australia. There was SEA Electric with their Hino-based product, and there was Lex Forsyth’s Janus truck.

Two years is a long time in trucking it would appear, if this year’s BTS is any indicator. In 2023 nearly every OEM had some electric on their stand. Here is a walk-through of their offerings. Prepare to be astounded!

At the official media launch of the show major sponsor Ampol spoke of their involvement in electrification. They are in the process of rolling out, in partnership with governments, a range of fast-charging solutions. They will install around 300 charging bays over the balance of this year and into next for cars, and are actively working on what an EV truck fast-charging network might look like.

Whilst Kenworth didn’t have a BEV on show, they did display a Fuel Cell Electric truck. Shock, horror no doubt for rusted on KW diesel loving fans. Parent company, Paccar who also own DAF displayed one of that brands EV trucks – the DAF LF Electric, a 19 tonne distribution truck destined for urban last-mile delivery. With a stated loaded range of up to 280 km the LF’s batteries should easily cover a day’s delivery requirements on a single charge.

The LF is also available with an optional 400 volt electric PTO, eliminating the need of, for example a separate generator for refrigerated transportation.

**DAF LF shows the electric way forward for Paccar**

Conversely, Daimler who have displayed EV’s over the past three shows in the form of the Fuso eCanter were bolder. The company displayed the first Mercedes-Benz heavy duty EV trucks for Australia in the form of the eActros and the eEconic. The M-B products both featured the eAxle which combines electric motor and differential in one unit. These trucks are about to undergo a validation program and I expect to sample them in real world conditions in the near future.

**M-B's eAxle frees up space for more batteries.**

**2nd Gen – bigger, better, more power**

Also featured on the Daimler stand was the second generation Fuso eCanter, again with the eAxle. From the original single model the brand now has a range of different weight ratings, sizes and wheel bases. It will now be available with three different battery pack sizes, dramatically increasing the driving range from the 100 km of the original model back in 2017.

Electric featured heavily on the Volvo stand. Volvo is the first company to have heavy duty EV vehicles on sale in Australia right now. Possibly in an effort to beat the rest of the market to the punch, the Volvo’s driveline has the electric motor connected to the differential via a tail shaft. The company informs us that their eAxle is around two years away, which is interesting as the eCanters (and the Mercedes Benz product have them now. Currently fully imported, Volvo will go to local production of EV’s in 2027.

**Volvo FH electric Prime Mover is on sale in Oz now, as are a number of other Volvo BEV’s.**

Isuzu showed their brand-new N series EV, first revealed in Japan in March. This is the very first factory developed Isuzu zero emission BEV. The company offered no timeline of when a product would be available in Australia.

**Isuzu will bring this BEV to the Australian market**

Founded 10 years ago right here in Australia and having launched their first commercial products in 2017, SEA Electric displayed a vast array of BEV vehicles up to 22.5 ton GVM. The company has vehicles operating in seven countries, with substantial operations now in the US where they have recently been awarded long-term supply contracts for the C-drive power system range with both Mack and Hino, Hino having been a body supplier to SEA Electric since their launch.

**SEA Electric's CEO, Tony Fairweather in front of a SEA converted Toyota HiLux**

The company in the US just recently unveiled a range combining a 250 kW battery with either a 30 or 45 kW hydrogen fuel cell operating as a range extender. This is truly an Australian success story.

Whilst Iveco’s new S-Way and T-Way models are both diesel powered the company did introduce the new E-Daily BEV for the first time. With a 111 kW battery, 140 kW of power and 400 N metres of torque, the Iveco Daily chassis and rail setup allows the van to have a modular system with its batteries. I.e. more as you need them to increase the range.

Iveco believe they have one of the best payload potentials on the market for this type of truck with up to 300 km of travel. The E-Daily begins local testing immediately following the BTS and will be conducting research with alternative fuel partners, customers and tertiary institutions.

Hats off to Janus’ Lex Forsyth. From his offering at the BTS two years ago where he displayed a Kenworth T403 with a replaceable battery under the bonnet, Janus has extensively revised the setup. In their new iterations – and the system is in a number of trucks. The swap–over batteries now sit where fuel tanks normally would. So all the ancillary services that operate the vehicle – the electric motor, air compressor, air-con system and power steering all drop directly into the front of the vehicle where the diesel engine comes out.

**Lex Forsyth of Janus with the only BEV capable of long distance driving.**

With a four-minute change over time, Janus has charging stations operating in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Mount Gambier, Adelaide and Port Augusta. Other locations are opening on the Pacific Highway to connect Brisbane and Sydney.

Janus’ heavy-duty electric prime movers are the only electrically viable solution available in Australia, and probably the world, with the ability to cover the vast distances that transport in this country requires.

Foton is a name not many will be familiar with in trucking terms, much less EV’s, but this company has held the number one position for 18 years in the Chinese market. Last year they sold over 460,000 commercial vehicles in the local market and internationally. Cumulatively they have now manufactured and sold over 11 million trucks and vans globally.

Foton Mobility is an Australian owned distributor of the brand with a range of trucks and EV buses plus a new range coming soon of hydrogen prime movers. At BTS the company displayed their T5 EV with a 4.5 ton GVM in car licence application and there is there is a 6 ton variant for those seeking a larger payload. The truck on display pairs a striking resemblance to the Cantor trucks. The bigger trucks in China in fact closely resemble the front-end of the M-B Actros. It would appear the company is a fan of Daimler.

It would be foolish however to ignore the brand given its dominance in Asia and other parts of the world, and under the stewardship of Bill Gillespie who brings a wealth of truck industry knowledge, we can expect to see much more of this brand.

Finally we come to Hyundai. The company, with more than 50 years’ experience in the truck industry is launching its Mighty EV this year. A 120 kW, 320 N metres electric motor powered by a 114 kW battery, this light duty truck is rated at 7.3 tons with a payload of around 3.5 tons and has a working range of 200 km based on real-world testing conducted here in Australia. Another EV truck, the X-cent is also coming. If the truck division lives up to the quality of its car division, Hyundai should enjoy success in the bright new world of electric trucking.

From 3 manufacturers with 3 trucks at BTS in 2021, this year the show saw 10 manufacturers with some 23 electric truck models. 2025 will be very interesting.