Truck makers unveil latest innovations at IAA

By Categories: NewsPublished On: Monday 30 September 2024

MAN CEO Alexander Vlaskamp

Taxes on trucks powered by fossil fuels should go up to en­courage hauliers to switch to zero-emission models; however, they must be increased slowly to avoid a damaging impact on the profitability of operators. So says Alexander Vlaskamp, MAN’s global chief executive officer.

“We need to see a rise, but spread over the next seven years,” he observed.

“It has to be done step-by-step so that continuing to operate with fossil fuels gradually be­comes more costly.”

It must also run in parallel with increased investment in the charging infrastructure.

“Grid capacity remains an is­sue,” he added.

He was speaking at the in­ternational launch of MAN’s new all-electric eTGL at the IAA Transportation show in Hanover, Germany.

The MAN eTGL saw its international launch at IAA

Due to be available next year, the 12-tonner can handle a 6.6-tonne payload and offers a 235km/147-mile range be­tween recharges, says the man­ufacturer. Its batteries can be charged to 80 per cent of their capacity from 10 per cent in around 30 minutes, the compa­ny adds.

The twin battery packs have a total capacity of 160kWh and power a 210kW motor.

With the eTGS and eTGX al­ready available, eTGL’s arrival means that MAN can now offer electric models grossing at from 12 all the way up to 50 tonnes.

Electric trucks are of little use if there is nowhere convenient for them to be plugged in, how­ever.

“Operators need charging facilities that are publicly acces­sible and also available at de­pots and loading and unloading points,” Vlaskamp observed.

As a consequence the man­ufacturer has forged links with a variety of different partners to accelerate the development of the charging infrastructure on both sides of the Channel. This includes a joint venture be­tween Traton (which embraces both MAN and Scania), Daimler Truck, and Volvo Group under the Milence banner to build and operate 1,700 high-capacity public charging stations across Europe between now and 2027.

MAN is also working with E.on to equip 170 of its service out­lets across Europe with some 400 charging points that will be available to any haulier with an electric truck, no matter the make.

DAF promoted its optimised diesel engines

While Vlaskamp and his col­leagues are convinced that bat­tery-electric traction represents the future, that does not mean that other technologies intended to cut emissions are being ne­glected. That includes hydrogen as a combustion fuel.

Next year will see around 200 MAN hTGX hydrogen combustion trucks rolled out across selected markets in Europe and beyond aimed at operators hauling heavy loads (timber for example) in locations where there are few charging points, or where hydro­gen happens to be abundant.

“You can produce a lot of hy­drogen with hydroelectricity,” he points out; so hTGX will be ap­pearing in Norway.

Hydrogen burned in an en­gine is not truly zero-emission, but the emissions produced are minimal.

How about hydrogen fuel cells? “The investment cost is high, the technology involved is very complex, you have to find space on the truck to accommo­date them, and then you have questions about their stability,” he replied.

While MAN may be eager to persuade customers to go elec­tric, diesel engine development is not being ignored, stresses Vlaskamp. Encompassing the new D30 engine which can de­liver up to 560hp and the new TipMatic 14-speed transmis­sion, the PowerLion drivetrain can deliver a claimed fuel and CO2 saving of up to four per cent.

Will future MANs have drivers in their cabs?

The Iveco S-eWay rigid

The company is pressing ahead with the development of driverless trucks, with some 500 engineers at MAN and Traton working on the project. Back in April MAN became the first truck maker to be granted a permit to trial an autonomous vehicle on the German motorway network.

The trial is going well, Vlaskamp reports, but he does not believe that driverless trucks will proliferate over the next few years. “However I do believe they will have a role to play in hub-to-hub transport,” he said.

The IAA show also saw Iveco launch its electric S-eWay 4×2 or 6×2 rigid with a claimed range of up to 400km/250 miles and the availability of four, five or seven batteries configured in different layouts and offering up to 490kWh. Fast 350kW DC charging allows its range to be extended by 200km/125 miles in under 45 minutes, says the manufacturer.

“We’ll have it available next year and we’ll be able to fit it with up to three electric power take-offs,” said Mike Cutts, appointed UK business line director in June and responsible for the manu­facturer’s full range of products. The newcomer will be marketed with three different cabs, he adds: AD, AS, and AT.

Covering the 18- to 26-tonne spectrum, and designed with lo­cal distribution work in mind, the new rigid will appear in Britain before the already-announced S-eWay tractor unit. That will not be available until 2026.

Electric rigids on short-haul work that that return to the same depot each night are easier to introduce than electric tractor units, which may need to travel further and use publicly-accessi­ble charging points.

“Infrastructure represents one of the biggest challenges,” Cutts observed.

“Acquiring the truck is the easy bit,” he continued. “Get­ting the energy it needs into it is more difficult.”

A factory-built electric Euro­cargo is “still under discussion,” he said. In the meantime Iveco is continuing to supply glider chas­sis that are being converted to electric traction by UK specialist Electra.

An Electric Scania tractor unit

Iveco too is embracing hydro­gen combustion, with the proto­type of an S-Way with a 13-litre engine that can burn the fuel on show. In a bid to cover more bases it was also exhibiting a concept range-extended hybrid truck powered by a Cursor 9 H2 hydrogen engine developed by FPT Industrial, Iveco’s sister brand within the Iveco Group.

One new Iveco model that will not be coming to the UK, says Cutts, is the electric eMoovy 2.5-to-3.5-tonne-gross light com­mercial chassis cab developed in conjunction with Hyundai.

Slotting in beneath the existing Iveco Daily, it is left-hand-drive-only, with no plans (at least not as yet) for a right-hand-drive ver­sion.

Scania debuted its electric EM C1-4 4×2 tractor unit at Han­over in 400kW guise. Battery capacity totals 728kWh which should give it a range of at least 530km/330 miles when oper­ated at 40 tonnes before it has to be recharged, says the man­ufacturer.

EVs formed part of a broader mix at this year’s IAA, alongside alternative sustainable options like this Scania biogas truck

On display too was the P160+ 6×2 rigid at either 400kW or 450kW with up to 2,800Nm on tap and an anticipated range of over 500km/312 miles.

Use a fast-charger and it can be re­charged from zero to 100 per cent in 85 minutes, Scania says.

Its power take-off capabilities enable it to operate an onboard loader crane or a hook-lift.

The Swedish company has long been a fan of biogas, and displayed a R 460 unit with compressed biogas tanks on one side of the chassis, and liquefied biogas tanks on the other.

This allows it to fill up at any gas station, Scania points out.

Sensible manufacturers rec­ognise that diesel is not dead yet, and are continuing to devel­op drivelines which include en­gines that run on the fuel.

DAF’s decision to optimise its MX-11 and MX-13 engines is contribut­ing to a three per cent fuel sav­ing, says the manufacturer.

Changes have been made to the valve timing and new fuel injectors have been fitted along with a dual-drive coolant pump and a two-cylinder clutched air compressor.

The turbocharger and exhaust gas recirculation systems have been updated and DAF is continuing with its down-speeding philosophy.

“This can mean 7 per cent lower rpm at cruising speeds; 950rpm instead of 1,030rpm,” said chief engineer, Jeroen van den Oetelaar.

The Tesla Semi

Volvo was busy extolling the virtues of its new, longer-range, FH Electric tractor unit, said to be capable of travelling 600km/375 miles on a single charge. Equipping it with an e-axle has created more space for batteries and the newcomer should appear during the sec­ond half of next year.

Its range will place it some way behind the claim made for Tesla’s Semi unit, which was tucked away on a modest stand in a corner of one of Hannover’s vast halls.

It is good for 800km/500 miles, reckons the company, and should appear in Europe from 2026 onwards – although it is likely to require considerable modification before it can meet regulatory and marketplace requirements on this side of the Atlantic.