Truck & Bus News

SEA Electric doubles local assembly

Electric truck manufacturer SEA Electric has extended its commitment to the Australian market by doubling the size of its local assembly facility for zeroemission trucks in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong.

Its present plant now covers 8,000m2 on a total site of 15,000m2, giving SEA Electric the capacity to produce eight trucks per day, or up to 2,080 units per annum. Founded in Australia in 2012, SEA Electric released its first electric commercial products in 2017, while last year it launched its new range of medium and heavy-duty electric cab chassis models, distributed and supported by an extensive dealership network. “Australia doesn’t need to search the world to attract EV manufacturers – SEA Electric is proud to be a global leader in commercial eMobility technology, homegrown here in Victoria,” said Tony Fairweather, SEA Electric Founder and CEO. In the future, SEA Electric will utilise the batteries within vehicle-to-grid (V2G) functional trucks on-site, where the trucks could provide power grid stability by feeding energy back at times of peak demand or grid disruption. The local range of SEA Electric badged trucks, the SEA 300 EV and the SEA 500 EV, are available in a range of models from 4.5t GVM vehicles capable of being driven on a car licence, through to 22.5t three-axle rigid trucks.

Bus Briefs

BusTech

Following the announcement of a strategic partnership with Keolis Downer, Australia’s largest private provider of public transport, BusTech Group will manufacture 16 new electric buses for operation on Queensland roads. The $15.6 million deal with Keolis Downer will also create the state’s first 100 percent electric bus depot in North Lakes at the home of Hornibrook Bus Lines.

Volgren

Following their recent partnership, Volgren and Wrightbus will build and deliver two hydrogen powered fuel cell buses to Transdev’s Capalaba depot in Brisbane. The Queensland Deputy Premier Dr Steven Miles announced a $1.5 million commitment for the buses under the State Government’s Hydrogen Industry Development Fund. Transdev will match the $1.5m investment to purchase the two hydrogen fuel cell buses to service the eastern suburbs of Brisbane. Yuri Tessari, Volgren’s Chief Commercial Officer, said the buses would be one of the first hydrogen bus bodies in Australia to be built locally, and the first to be powered using European chassis technology.

Polls says Aussies want electric buses

A new poll from the Climate Council of more than 2,000 Australians says that eight out of 10 people believe governments must invest more in public transport, particularly sustainable options. Seven in 10 are keen to see Australia’s entire bus fleet electrified and run on renewable energy as soon as possible.

SEA expands into New Zealand

SEA Electric and leading civil construction firm Demsey Wood have introduced New Zealand’s first electric traffic safety vehicle, complete with a truck-mounted attenuator.

Joining Dempsey Wood’s Temporary Traffic Management Division, the SEA Isuzu FSD EV entitled “BIG EV”, is specified with a SEADrive 120-25 power-system as assembled by Blackwells Isuzu in Christchurch, with assistance provided by SEA Electric’s New Zealand Aftersales team. Funding assistance for the project came from New Zealand’s Energy Efficiency & Conservation Authority. From SEA Electric’s perspective, the build is yet another example of the adaptability of the SEA-Drive power-system across a broad array of final application possibilities. “It was no small task for Dempsey Wood to take on industry leadership with the build on this large attenuated truck,” said Stephen Fairweather, General Manager, SEA Electric (NZ). “It required foresight to consider the total cost of ownership benefits of converting to EV, as well as understanding the many advantages that this truck brings to their business. “This build shows what is possible in the construction space, both here in New Zealand, and across the world.” Elsewhere in New Zealand, SEA Electric was showcased at the New Zealand Electro Mobility Summit from August 11-12, with a SEA 300-85 EV on display, with Stephen Fairweather featuring on the event’s summit panel.

Volta Zero rolls off the production line

Volta Trucks has confirmed that the first Volta Zero vehicle has been completed at the company’s contract manufacturing facility in Steyr, Austria.

Volta Trucks’ contract manufacturing facility is run by Steyr Automotive, formerly MAN Truck and Bus Austria. Steyr Automotive was appointed in August 2021 following an extensive tender and based on their long experience of commercial vehicle manufacturing, existing infrastructure, and consequent speed to market. Steyr Automotive offers Volta Trucks more than 100 years of manufacturing experience building large commercial vehicles. Steyr Automotive has reserved a capacity of 14,000 vehicles per year for Volta Trucks from their total available production. Over time, manufacturing the Volta Zero will create 510 jobs, plus 180 jobs in the building of the cargo boxes. The landmark vehicle, the first of a series of second-generation ‘Production Verification’ prototypes, will form part of a Pilot Fleet of trucks. These will be loaned to customers for extended periods in late 2022 and early 2023 to allow fleet operators to understand how the first purpose-built full-electric medium duty commercial vehicle will integrate into their operations. To meet these deadlines Volta Trucks has confirmed that production of customer specification vehicles is on track. The 16-tonne Volta Zero has now completed a rigorous program of hot weather testing. Taking place over six weeks at the purposebuilt Nardo Technical Centre in Southern Italy, the hot weather testing program was designed to ensure that the Volta Zero will deliver high levels of reliability and durability when series production of customer specification vehicles starts early next year. The Vehicle Development team at Volta Trucks completed more than 2,500km of customer-focused driving cycles at motorway, town and city speeds. Undertaken in temperatures of up to 39 degrees Celsius during the day and 28 degrees Celsius at night, the air conditioning system and thermal management of the battery and powertrain of the Volta Zero have been fully evaluated and pushed to the extremes to ensure optimum operational reliability.

UD Trucks Gemba Challenge with 46 Aussie teams

The UD Trucks Gemba Challenge kicked off as a part of UD’s global aftermarket competition.

Gemba loosely translates to “the place where value is created.” For UD customers it reflects the hard work that goes on behind the scenes to create a strong dependable ownership experience and is the cornerstone on which the UD brand is built. The Gemba Challenge pits service and aftermarket teams against technical challenges in the workshop. The competition culminates in a global final where aftermarkets teams from around the globe face off over workshop tasks. Australia is fielding 46 teams in this year’s competition with a total of 164 competitors, the second round of the competition closed on August 2. The teams are vying for a guaranteed place in the global final to be held in Ageo, Japan in late October.

Foton hydrogen buses in Australia

Foton Mobility and Transit Systems have two hydrogen buses in Australia. The hydrogen buses are equipped with the fuel cell system developed by SinoHytec using the Toyota fuel cell.

The hydrogen fuel cell buses have been added to Transit Systems growing green fleet of sustainable transport solutions, which now includes 60 electric buses and two hydrogen buses. Neil Wang, CEO, Foton Mobility Australia said the hydrogen buses are in their infancy in Australia, but they have great potential. “Given our vast land and need for immediate carbon emission reduction in the transport area, hydrogen fuel cell buses are an important part of the mass transport landscape. “Our bus operator clients are ready to make the leap to hydrogen and have scope to include them in their fleet. Transit Systems is the first client to take on the Zero Emissions challenge in battery electric buses – and now in hydrogen city buses.” Foton Mobility Australia is the sole Australian distributor.