Aeolus Truck & Driver News

The ‘Ovlov-2022’ team representing Truckstops Whangarei has won the 2022 New Zealand VISTA competition.

VISTA (Volvo International Service Training Award) is the world’s largest aftermarket technical challenge. With a history stretching back to 1957, VISTA attracts nearly 20,000 participants from more than 90 countries. 

After a closely contested series of challenges, the Truckstops Whangarei team of Justin Williams, Shyju M.C, Abbey Lewis and Leon Cross took a narrow win ahead of Truckstops Lower Hutt.

“The competition was extremely close this year with a number of teams being in contention to the very end,” said Brendan Bold, Product Support/Warranty at MTD Tr...

Southland-based transport giant H.W. Richardson Group (HWR) is poised to lead New Zealand’s adoption of hydrogen to reduce emissions from heavy vehicles.

Group CEO Anthony Jones confirms HWR has been trialling a hydrogen dual-fuel truck since the last half of 2021 and is now committed to a fleet of 10 dual-fuel trucks which are scheduled to go on the road in the second quarter of 2023.

The trucks are fitted with pressurised hydrogen tanks behind the cab. With modifications to the intake system, the existing diesel engines run on a dual-fuel mix that replaces up to 40% of the diesel fuel consumption with an equivalent amount of hydrogen. The result is a 40% reduction in exh...

Iveco Group is making significant changes to its New Zealand operations.

In an announcement from Australia, Iveco says it is taking full responsibility for sales in New Zealand and ending agreements with its three independent dealers. Iveco Group’s local vehicle sales operation is to be consolidated at its Wiri facility in South Auckland.

The decision is the latest restructuring in the supply and distribution of Iveco vehicles. Late last year it was announced the Iveco plant in Dandenong, Victoria would close from mid-2022 and the brand would transition to a fully imported vehicle range supported by a customisation facility for Australasia.

Iveco Group says the sales...

A new initiative to drive diversity in the road transport industry has been launched by Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand and Teletrac Navman.

The 2022 Driving Change Diversity Programme will develop a group of diversity champions, nominated from within the transport industry, teaching them how to create change and facilitate diversity in their workplace and community. It is based on a similar successful programme run by the Australian Trucking Association (ATA) across the Tasman.

Falling under the banner of Transporting New Zealand’s Te ara ki tua Road to Success traineeship, it will be the first trans-Tasman programme of its kind in the industry, focusing on attra...

The development of autonomous trucking routes in the United States is continuing to expand.

Self-driving truck developer Kodiak Robotics has partnered with U.S. Xpress, one of America’s largest carrier fleets, to launch a Level 4 autonomous freight service between Dallas-Fort Worth and Atlanta.

U.S. Xpress becomes the first cornerstone truckload partner in Kodiak’s Partner Deployment Programme, working with Kodiak to deploy self-driving technology. This partnership also launches the first commercial autonomous trucking lane to the East Coast. 

A Kodiak truck and U.S. Xpress trailers completed a first-of-its-kind pilot, hauling freight four round-trips (eight seg...