News | Truck & Bus
Briefs BrightDrop bright start
New ADRs for commercial vehicles in Australia In late February 2022, the Assistant Minister to the Deputy Prime Minister, the Hon Kevin Hogan MP, signed two new Australian Design Rules (ADRs):
Earlier in the year Brightdrop, a subsidiary of GM, announced two marquee electric light commercial vehicles – the EV600 and its mid-size counterpart, the EV410.In December 500 EV600s were delivered to FedEx Express. Those vehicles are already out in the field making deliveries today in Los Angeles. That milestone established the EV600 as the fastest vehicle produced, from concept to market, in GM’s history. Then the company landed some of the world’s largest companies as EV customers, Walmart has signed an agreement to reserve 5,000 EVs, and FedEx entered into an agreement to secure priority for production of an additional 2,000 EVs on top of the 500 they were already slated to receive. In addition to becoming a leading commercial EV provider, the company developed an electric cart designed to transport goods over short distances – for example, from a delivery vehicle to a front door. Electric Last Mile Solutions
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ADR 97/00 – Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB) for Omnibuses, and Medium and Heavy Goods Vehicles; and
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ADR 35/07 – Commercial Vehicle Brake Systems.
Both ADRs are published on the Federal Register of Legislation (www.legislation.gov.au) and are available together with the associated Explanatory Statements and Final Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) at: •
ADR 97/00 – www.legislation.gov.au/ Details/F2022L00211/Download
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ADR 35/07 – www.legislation.gov.au/ Details/F2022L00213/Download
ADR 97/00 mandates Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB) systems for buses, and goods vehicles greater than 3.5 tonnes Gross Vehicle Mass (GVM), to avoid or mitigate the severity of rear-end in lane collisions. ADR 35/07 expands the applicability of the mandatory requirements for a Vehicle Stability Function incorporating both rollover control and directional control (otherwise known as Electronic Stability Control or ESC for heavy vehicles) under the preceding ADR
35/06, to all categories of buses, and goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes GVM. Both ADRs will be mandatory for new models from 1 November 2023, all new buses from 1 November 2024, and all new goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes GVM from 1 February 2025. Exemptions from mandatory fitment of AEB and ESC are provided for buses specially designed with spaces for standing passengers, articulated buses, trucks with four or more axles, and trucks and buses ‘designed for off-road use’ (as defined in each ADR). These are equivalent to exemptions in place in the European Union. Mandating AEB for heavy vehicles was identified as a priority in Future Steps of the National Road Safety Strategy 2011-2020 (NRSS) as well as a Priority Action (item 4) of the National Road Safety Action Plan 20182020 (NRSAP). The expansion of the scope of application of the mandatory requirements for ESC on heavy vehicles, follows a commitment from the Commonwealth in the RIS for ADR 35/06, to consider this as part of the RIS for AEB on heavy vehicles.
Hydrogen Dakar truck This is another US manufacturer who has already delivered with a range of vehicles including the Urban Delivery van about the size of a Ford Transit and very conventional in its looks and very affordable which is attracting sales from couriers, contractors and tradies. Stellantis Stellantis, the company that was the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the French PSA Group, has a deal with Amazon to sell the company the Ram ProMaster delivery vans in 2023. While Stellantis has not officially revealed the electric vans, Amazon is expected to become the first commercial customer when it eventually enters production. Kenworth has its first Class 8 electric truck In the US Kenworth has unveiled its first US Class 8 electric truck designed for a gross vehicle weight rating of about 37 tonnes, the Kenworth T680E electric tractor features a Meritor powertrain and offers 400 kW of continuous or 500 kW of peak power.It is equipped with a 396 kWh capacity battery for approximately a 240 kilometres range and can be charged at up to 120 kW via a CCS1 DC fast-charging port, the T680E can be fully charged in about three hours. 12 | March 2022
After its successful run in the Dakar Rally in January 2022 in Saudi Arabia, Gaussin’s H2 Racing Truck – the first hydrogen truck to complete the challenging rally will be exhibited internationally from Europe to the US and Canada. The truck will also be accompanied by other vehicles from the Gaussin range, including the APM, the ATM and the Cit-e (ex-Bluebus). According to Gaussin the H2 Racing Truck is the most powerful 100 percent hydrogen and electric racing truck ever built, performed well at the 2022 Dakar Rally. It ran from the Red Sea, in Jeddah, through the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia traversing to Hail, Al Artawiyah, Al Qaisumah, Riyadh, Al Dawadimi, Wadi Ad Dawasir, Bisha and returning in the final sprint of the race to Jeddah, where it all began. This heavy class 8 truck was entered in the experimental category of the Dakar 2022 for new clean energies The H2 Racing Truck is a showcase of Gaussin’s latest innovations. Unlike the solutions currently available on the market, the implementation of the hydrogen system has been developed on the basis of an ultralight chassis, designed around the hydrogen and electric powertrain and based on a
modular skateboard launched last April. It is the precursor of Gaussin’s new range of 100 percent hydrogen and electric road trucks, designed by Pininfarina, which will be marketed this year and of which it is the first model.
