A new entrant to the Australian market used the Brisbane Truck Show for its launching pad.
Brisbane based Avia Oceania launched two brands, the Avia D-series Medium Duty Truck range and Smith Electric Vehicles.
The two Smith Electric Vehicles launched are zero-emission commercial electric vehicles that are designed to be a superior-performing alternative to traditional diesel trucks due to higher efficiency and lower total cost of ownership.
Smith vehicle designs leverage more than 80 years of experience in selling and servicing electric vehicles in the United Kingdom.
From its origins as Northern Coachbuilders in 1920, Smith has influenced every stage in the evolution of electric vehicles through electric trolley buses to its new generation models.
Smith draws on a history and expertise in battery technology and has thousands of commercial vehicles in operation around the world said the company.
According to Tony Fairweather, Managing Director of Avia Oceania Smith has already partnered in overseas markets with global leaders across multiple industries.
Some of these industries include food and beverage, utility, telecommunications, retail, grocery, parcel and postal delivery, school transportation, military and government.
He claims customers for Smith’s Electric Truck solution include many of the world’s largest fleet operators, including PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay division, Staples, TNT, Sainsbury’s, Coca-Cola, DHL, FedEx and the U.S. Military.
The two vehicles launched in the Australian market include the Smith Newton and the Smith Edison. Both vehicles can be configured for multiple applications with wheelbase, charging options and battery capacity usually being the main decision points.
“Users have found the benefits of changing to electric vehicles are lower cost of ownership, high performance reliability for urban routes, less expensive to deploy and maintain, zero emissions operation, positive driver experience and Smith’s full circle support,” said Mr Fairweather.
The proposition to the market is simple, the company claims a traditional diesel truck will use approximately $150,000 (100,000 litres) of fuel over seven years. By comparison, a Smith Electric truck will cost only $30,000 to re-charge, saving its operator $120,000.
Maintenance costs are dramatically reduced, by half to $10,000, due to the low maintenance requirements of the electric drive line. This corresponds to a reduction of running costs by 70% over seven and 10 years.
Over the first 10 years, the saving per truck can exceed $200,000 over a diesel powered vehicle.
Environmentally, Smith Electric trucks can have a huge impact:
• 130,000kg of CO2 that is no longer produced (over 7 years) in metropolitan areas
• 100,000 litres of diesel fuel no longer needed
• Waste fluids, parts and toxic material generated during the servicing process for a diesel truck are eliminated
• 70dB of noise in streets eliminated due to the quiet operation of the electric vehicles
“Avia Oceania looks fo
rward to demonstrating to Australian customers why Smith are the world’s best selling fully electric trucks,” he said.
AVIA
As the distributor of Czechoslovakian based Avia Trucks the company is bringing in trucks from 4.5 tonnes up to 18 tonne that have been designed and developed in the United Kingdom and launched in 2000.
“Quality, value, design and simplicity are the core values that fully describe the Avia D series of trucks. Avia’s wide range of overall truck GVM’s and cabin, axle and wheelbase options provide solutions across the light and medium duty truck segments,” said Mr Fairweather.
Avia Oceania will initially launch models with GVM’s from 6.0 to 12.0 tonnes. Within these models, customers will have the option of day cab, sleeper cab and seven seat crew cab options, with either 4×2 and 4×4 axle drive-trains.
Avia trucks will be available in a range of wheelbases for body lengths up to 7,700mm.
The Avia range comes with well known driveline components that the Australian market has an affinity with.
Each Avia D series comes standard with a ZF manual transmission or an optional Eaton Ultrashift Automated Manual Transmission (AMT).
Cummins ISB diesel engines and Albion axles complete a proven, durable and reliable drive-train.
The Avia D120 4×4 delivers where superior off-road performance is required.
Robust construction of the front drive axle and the dual ratio transfer box, the quality of which has been proven under challenging operational conditions and truck trial competitions, provides a perfect solution where increased adhesion and off-road drivability are crucial.
Simple controls and excellent ergonomics in the D series modern and spacious cabins make the Avia relaxing to drive.
The interiors are a mix of carefully chosen materials, attractive design and first-class workmanship. Standard equipment across the range includes a fully air suspended ISRI driver’s seat and an Alpine integrated audio/visual unit that incorporates GPS navigation, multimedia integration and Bluetooth hands-free connections for mobile phones.
Avia trucks arrive in the Australian market backed by a 3 year, unlimited kilometre warranty. The cabs are warranted for 8 years against corrosion.
“Both warranties can give Avia owners in Australia confidence that Avia trucks will provide long standing, reliable and economical service boosting the productivity and profitability of their operations,” said Tony.