Mercedes’ First Fully Electric Truck 

Launched earlier this year, Mercedes’ first fully electric truck is the all-electric ‘Urban eTruck’, based on a three-axle Mercedes Antos distribution chassis (complete with a heavily camouflaged cab) which was duly described as, “The first fully-electric truck for heavy distribution operations.” Less than two months later, up popped the Urban eTruck again, only this time sporting a smart curvaceous futuristic cab, and in pride-of-place at the centre of Mercedes’ IAA show stand. Electric heavies are suddenly big news.
Read More
Thinking About Training New Drivers

Thinking About Training New Drivers

One of the truck manufacturers which has been thinking about training new drivers is Volvo. The company has been developing its training system over the years and has declared its intention to work towards
Read More

Running Mercedes Benz Trucks in Australia

The man tasked with the job of running Mercedes Benz trucks in Australia is Michael May, long time servant of the company and part of the relatively young team now steering the Daimler Trucks ship in this country. Diesel News talked to him about his past and the future for the truck brand.
Read More

New Kenworth Out on the Highway (Video)

Paccar HQ in Bayswater has seen a new Kenworth unveiled, the T610. Available in two models, the T610 and T610 SAR, this new generation of Kenworths looks set to revolutionise the truck maker’s range, here in Australia. After almost a decade of development, and the result of more than 100,000 Australian design hours and more than ten million kilometres of testing and validation, Paccar said the T610 is the single largest investment in product development the company has ever made in Australia.
Read More

Actros Driver’s First Impressions

Diesel News became part of the trial testing process in the development of the new truck from Mercedes Benz, which was released last month. Here is a Actros driver’s first impressions of the cab fwhen confronted with a new design and an array of buttons and displays. The cabin on the model tested by Diesel is the biggest one we will see here in Australia. This has a flat floor and double bunks, fitted with the kind of things we expect in a top of the range European prime mover, a slide out fridge and storage drawer, plus well-appointed interior. The bottom bunk is large, in European terms, and comfortable.
Read More

Quick Look at the Trade Ace

Diesel News took a quick look at the Trade Ace from Hino. Stepping up to a light duty truck from a car can be daunting for some people. Change can be a daunting thing when car-based utilities or one-tonners have been the workhorse of choice. When business needs demand a vehicle with a significantly greater carrying capacity, it’s not just the larger size, both length and width, causing consternation, there’s also the extra height off the ground, those wide reaching rear view mirrors and a turning circle somewhat larger than an average ute.
Read More

New Cummins Engines Coming to Australia in 2017

After their launch in the US, there will be new Cummins engines coming to Australia in 2017. Cummins has announced it will release the X15 Euro 5 in 2017. This is an evolutionary development of the 15-litre ISXe5. “The X15 uses the same hardware and emissions reduction technology, SCR, as the existing ISXe5, and incorporates all the product improvements since the ISXe5 release in 2012, including power cylinder, cylinder head and turbocharger upgrades,” said Andrew Penca, Managing Director Cummins South Pacific. “The X15 features ADEPT technology, a suite of advanced electronic features capable of delivering fuel economy gains through improved powertrain integration. Read More

Electric Trucks’ Potential as a Mainstream Alternative

What’s accelerating electric trucks’ potential as a mainstream alternative to a diesel-powered truck? Answer: batteries. After years of struggling to get the power density up and the cost and weight down, thanks to the latest generation of lithium ion batteries all-electric heavies are looking increasingly operationally viable, rather than simply technically possible, especially at the heavy end.
Read More

Roger Penske Launches the New 15 litre MAN

On one of his frequent visits to Australia, automotive mogul, Roger Penske launches the new 15 litre MAN D38 prime mover. Fresh from watching the DJR Team Penske V8 Supercar racing team compete at Bathurst over the weekend, Penske attended the launch in Brisbane this week.
Read More
An International Trucks Deal, Autonomous Trucks, Low Fuel Volvo and a New UD

The Return of International Trucks

The long anticipated announcement of the return of International Trucks to the Australian market has been made public this week. This follows 18 months of speculation about who would distribute the US
Read More