Aeolus Truck & Driver News

Australasia’s first battery electric concrete mixer truck is on the road in Auckland, delivering its first load on November 10 after some earlier test runs.

Firth Industries’ new XCMG E700 is one of the EV projects supported by the EECA Low Emission Transport Fund (LETF). Firth gained $361,000 in co-funding from the LETF to gain early experience of operating a battery electric truck in the concrete sector.

The 8x4 XCMG is equipped with a Schwing Tech G06V mixer drum capable of delivering 6 cubic metres of concrete. The 282kWh battery with fast swapping capability powers both the truck and the mixer bowl and the battery can be charged in about two hours using ...

The first of the Waitomo Group sites being upgraded to produce hydrogen for fuel cell electric truck trials is now expected to be up and running around March or April of next year.

The $50 million trial which involves hydrogen producer Hiringa Energy, fuel supplier Waitomo Group and truck leasing giant TR Group as the supplier of Hyzon FCEV trucks, was announced in late-2021. It was initially scheduled to be operational by the end of 2022.

Waitomo’s Te Rapa site in Hamilton will be the first of four North Island service stations that will produce and supply hydrogen for the zero-emission truck trial.

“We’ve recently landed a lot of the gear and we hope ...

The contributions of five men who devoted much of their lives to the road transport industry were celebrated at the Mobil Delvac 1 NZ Road Transport Hall of Fame function in Invercargill on September 29.

Southlanders Ian Guise and George Hedley, Taranaki’s John Geraghty, Trevor Jackson of Pahiatua, and King Country-based Peter Walker are the new inductees to the Hall of Fame in its twelfth year.

The gala dinner, attended by more than 400 guests, was staged at Bill Richardson Transport World, the largest private automotive museum of its type in the world.

The Hall of Fame honours the outstanding contributions made by key individuals in the New Zealan...

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has made its much anticipated move into the long-haul electric truck sector with the unveiling of the new eActros 600 in production ready specification ready for European customers in 2024.

At a world premiere near Hamburg, Mercedes-Benz Trucks confirmed the total storage capacity of the three lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery packs is more than 600 kilowatt hours (621kWh installed capacity) – hence the model designation 600.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks says the adoption of LFP battery technology is a step forward from more commonly used lithium-ion cells. LFP batteries are less prone to combustion and thermal runaway and also better suited...

Port of Auckland (POAL) will hike its Vehicle Booking System (VBS) prices from the beginning of next year, adding further cost pressures for New Zealand importers and exporters as well as transport operators servicing the port.

The National Road Carriers (NRC) says the 59% increase in VBS prices are part of an escalation of costs which are threatening the viability of many carriers, who are unable to pass on the higher costs until contracts can be renegotiated.

“While VBS charges are eventually paid for by cargo importers and exporters, the challenge for transport operators is they are forced carry the costs in the interim, while contracts are renegotiated, o...