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Sep 11, 2017

ELECTRIC DELIVERY TRUCK * Europe: By Ford

* Paris - DHL and Ford develop new electric delivery vehicle

(Photo: Like its predecessors WORK -4 m3 capacity- and WORK L -8 m3- WORK XL can also be marketed to third-party customers)  --  Paris, France - Actu-Transport-Logistique.fr - 9 Sept 2017

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Aug 1, 2017

ELECTRIC TRUCKMAKER NEWS * Europe: New production for the FUSO E- CANTER

* Portugal - Mitsubishi Fuso starts building electric truck in Europe

--- Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) has celebrated the start of production of what it claims is the world's first all electric light duty truck, the Fuso eCanter... Fuso, once part of the giant Japanese Mitsubishi group is today a Daimler Trucks Asia brand and Canters for Europe and the US are produced in Tramagal, Portugal... The plant covers 160,000 square metres where 400 employees produce trucks for 30 European countries, Israel, Morocco and Turkey. Almost 95% of the vehicles are exported. Since 2012, the plant has also built the Canter Eco Hybrid... 
(Photo: Guests an the official opening ceremony inspect one of the early eCanter chassis off the line) -- Tramagal, Portugal - Just Auto, by Graeme Roberts - 28 July 2017

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Jul 13, 2017

The new Panther 8 × 8 truck * Austria - By Rosenbauer

* Leonding - The first new generation Panther 8 × 8 for the Charles de Gaulle airport

--- The Austrian manufacturer Rosenbauer , which specializes in firefighting equipment and vehicles, has unveiled its first new generation Panther 8 × 8 truck . This model, the largest of the Panther range, is destined for the largest international airports, in particular those which receive very large aircraft such as Airbus A380, or which have special requirements for acceleration, maximum speed and extinguishing capacity... Weighing up to 52 t in running order, with 19,000 l of extinguishing agent, the new Panther 8 × 8 accelerates from 0 to 80 km / h in less than 25 seconds and can travel at speeds up to 135 km / H, which guarantees very short arrival times at the scene of a disaster. In addition, its eight-wheel drive allows it to overcome any obstacles and evolve in all weather, quickly and safely... 
 Leonding, Austria - France Routes, by Pascal Stich - June 30, 2017

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Jun 28, 2017

WABCO & Daimler Trucks * Europe: Agreement for AMT control technology

* Belgium - WABCO / Daimler Trucks signs global long-term supply agreement 

--- WABCO Holdings Inc., a leading global supplier of technologies and services that improve the safety, efficiency and connectivity of commercial vehicles, today announced that Daimler Trucks has extended its long-term supply agreement with WABCO for new heavy-duty automated manual transmission (AMT) control technology to support its series production mainly in Europe, North America, Japan, and South America... 
(Image: Modular transmission automation system)   --   Brussels, Belgium - GlobeNewswire - June 26, 2017

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May 19, 2017

GREEN NEW TRUCKS * Europe - Required to certify the CO2 emissions

* Belgium - All new trucks to have CO2 emissions certified by 2019

--- Truckmakers will be required to certify the CO2 emissions of all new trucks they sell in Europe from using a test procedure known as VECTO. The tool, which was was endorsed by EU member states and the European Commission last week, is designed to make figures for the fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from new heavy-goods vehicles available for truck buyers... The system will require truckmakers to supply information on key vehicle parameters, including weight, aerodynamics performance and engine efficiency. Using this data, the simulator will generate reference CO2 emission values that customers can read on labels placed on new vehicles... These fuel figures could also be the basis for the CO2 standards for heavy-duty vehicles that the Commission is expected to propose early next year... But campaigners have cautioned that while this new test procedure will increase transparency, it will not deliver the emissions cuts Europe needs to meet its climate targets or prevent truckmakers from exploiting test loopholes – as carmakers routinely do... The second package should also include on-road fuel consumption testing, T&E added, as the Commission is planning to do for cars and vans... 
Brussels, Belgium - Transport & Enviroment - May 17, 2017

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May 18, 2017

CARRIERS COMPENSATION * Europe: By European truck manufacturers

* France - Carriers begin to look at the contours of compensation

--- The heavy fine of 2.93 billion € imposed in July 2016 by DG Competition builders European heavyweights (Daf Daimler, Iveco, Volvo / Renault) who agreed on prices gradually encourages carriers to study the Compensation for the damage suffered... One law firm begins collecting data to assess the damage suffered by French carriers and privileges the transaction with the manufacturers and gives itself until September before considering a legal proceeding. The Carving firm , on the other hand, tried to seek redress from the French courts, without excluding amicable solutions... The data analysis work has begun. The firms specialized in international litigation and competition law gives itself four months before considering its judicial strategy. "We will decide in September whether we are going to litigation, "... The carriers are also approached by the firm Carving, specialized in mergers and acquisitions, which advocates compensation measures before the competent courts in France (it targets fleets of more than 100 vehicles)... 
(Photo credit DR: The € 2.93 billion fine imposed by DG Competition on European truck manufacturers encourages carriers to investigate the contours of compensation for the damage suffered) -- Paris, France - ACTU Transport et Logistique, by BENOÎT BARBEDETTE & LOUIS GUARINO - 18 May 2017

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Apr 21, 2017

TRUCKMAKERS' CARTEL * Europe - Class Action against

* England - UK Road Haulage Group's Class Action. Release of EC decision shows depth of corruption


--- The ongoing case of the European truck cartel which has seen many of the manufacturers collude and conspire with regard to vehicle prices and emissions has reached a new phase with the release this week of the European Commission (EC) settlement decision on the matter... The Road Haulage Association (RHA) which, having obtained the non-confidential version of the EC ruling, says it serves to strongly reinforce the RHA’s determination to pursue the legal action against the manufacturers to reclaim the cost of overpayment for its members. The organisation is appealing for transport firms, whether they are RHA members or not, to get in touch if they want compensation. It also confirms there is no cost to haulage firms in joining the proposed legal action and anyone affected can register their interest here... The companies charged with antitrust activity reads like a who’s who of truck production with Volvo, DAF, Daimler, Fiat, Iveco, MAN and Renault just some of the names linked to the investigation. As several of the manufacturers (MAN, Daimler, Iveco, Volvo/Renault, and DAF) settled with the EC in clear and unequivocal terms, confirming their liability for infringing EU competition rules in relation to the main facts, the decision is not as detailed as it might have been, running to just over thirty pages... The RHA has appointed well known transport law specialist solicitors Backhouse Jones to deal with the class action suit it intends to bring against the truck makers... 
(Photo, by Dirk Kruell/Redux: A truck service area in Siegburg, Germany) -- London, UK – Handy Shipping Guide – 11 April 2017

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Apr 4, 2017

SCANIA's new TRUCK MODELS * Australia & Ireland

* Victoria/Australia - Scania S500 to make guest appearance
--- Scania will present the International Truck of the Year 2017 and winner of Europe's 1,000-point heavy vehicle comparison test, the at the Brisbane Truck Show from 25-28 May, 2017. .. This will be the first time an example of the New Truck Generation Scania will be seen in Australia, and its first public presentation in the Southern Hemisphere, following the global reveal in Paris last August... The Brisbane Truck Show Scania S 500 display vehicle will be brought out specifically for the show and will return to Europe immediately after it concludes... "The truck on display is representative of a specification that could be offered to the Australian market once the New Truck Generation Scania is launched here" ... 
(Photo: ON SHOW: Punters will get their first upclose look at the Scania S500 at the Brisbane Truck show)   --  Campbellfield, VIC, Australia - Big Rigs - 3rd Apr 2017
* C. Clare/Ireland - Clean Ireland invests in Scania CNG Gas trucks 

---   The beginning of the end for environmentally harmful diesel powered commercial vehicles has arrived with the delivery of the very first dedicated Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) waste collection trucks into Ireland...  In a €750,000 overall investment in new CNG Scania trucks and a compressor and refuelling station at its Shannon, Co. Clare operation, Mid-West based waste management company Clean Ireland Recycling will have the first ever dedicated CNG waste collection trucks on the road in Ireland... The investment will deliver a 22 per cent saving on carbon emissions and 99 per cent less particulate matter but also a fuel cost saving of up to 30 per cent per vehicle compared with its diesel equivalent... Clean Ireland Recycling is, in association with Gas Networks Ireland, currently commissioning a compressor and refuelling station at its Shannon, Co. Clare plant...

 (Photo: Compressed Natural Gas powered Scania trucks)  --  Ennis, County Clare, Ireland - Transport Pars/Irish News, by John Loughran - April 3, 2017

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RENAULT's GREEN TRUCKS.* Ireland

* Leinster - AES choose Renault for fleet replacement programme

--- Leinster and North Munster-based Advanced Environmental Solutions (AES Bord na Móna) have just put into service 10 new Renault Range C380 8×4 trucks complete with Dennis Olympus OL27 bodies, Zoeller lifts and Moba weighing systems... All 10 trucks are fitted with the Opti-driver extreme gearbox and Voith retarders. The bodies are both single compartment and dual compartment configurations... In addition AES have also taken delivery of 4 new Renault Range D320 6×2 rear-steer with Allison gearboxes...
 (Photo: One of the Range C380 8×4 trucks supplied by Setanta Vehicle Sales Ltd. of Dublin that went into service recently with Leinster and North Munster-based Advanced Environmental Solutions)   --  Dublin, Leinster, Ireland  - Transport Parts, by Declan O'Byrne - March 29, 2017

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Jan 29, 2017

IVECO “Project of the Year” *Europe

* Austria - IVECO's first natural gas truck, voted “Project of the Year"
--- IVECO Stralis NP, the first natural gas truck for long-haul operations, has been voted “Project of the Year” at the European Gas Awards of Excellence 2017, during the European Gas Conference, the annual meeting for the European gas industry, held in Vienna (from 23 to 25 January 2017), which gathers more than 450 key representatives from regional governments and industry leaders and more than 80 gas producers, to address issues related to Europe’s energy future...
(Photo The Iveco Stralis NP 2017) -- Vienna, Austria - Fleet Point, by Maddy Price - January 26, 2017

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Nov 15, 2016

TOP TRUCKMAKERS in * Europe - 100 billion euro damages claim

* Belgium - Europe's top truck makers could face 100 billion euro cartel damages claim

--- Litigation management company Bentham Europe plans to fund a potential 100 billion euro ($110 billion) damages claim against Europe's biggest truck makers after they admitted to operating a 14-year price cartel... Bentham said on Monday it intends to back a group action on behalf of truck buyers who fell victim to the cartel involving Volvo, Daimler, Paccar's DAF, CNH Industrial's Iveco and Volkswagen's MAN... Four truck makers were fined a record 2.9 billion euros by EU regulators in July for price fixing and passing on to customers the costs of complying with stricter emission rules... Volkswagen's MAN escaped a fine after it blew the whistle, but all five conceded that they had operated a cartel between 1997 and 2011 apart from VW stablemate Scania, which remains under investigation... Bentham Europe, owned by funds managed by U.S. investment firm Elliott Management (one of the "vulture" funds), estimates that 10 million trucks were sold across the EU in the period and that each one was overpriced by about 10,500 euros... 
(Photo from REUTERS, by Fabian Bimmer - The logo of Swedish truck maker Volvo is pictured at the IAA truck show in Hanover, September 22, 2016)    --  Brussels, Belgium - Reuters, by Kirstin Ridley / David Goodman - Nov 14, 2016

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Nov 5, 2016

TRUCKMAKERS' PRICE FIXING * Europe: Compensation requested for UK hauliers

* England - RHA to sue truck makers over price fixing

--- The RHA is to claim compensation for UK hauliers after the European Union fined commercial vehicle manufacturers nearly €3 billion for price fixing in July... The association will bring collective proceedings to the Competition Appeal Tribunal under the Consumer Rights Act 2015... Earlier this year Volvo/Renault, Daimler, Iveco and DAF were fined a total of €2.9 billion after they were identified as being involved in a price fixing cartel. The largest fine, €1 billion, was imposed on Daimler, maker of Mercedes Benz trucks. Volvo/Renault was fined €670m, Iveco was fined €495m, and DAF was fined €753m... Burnett added: “We understand that there is an enormous amount of detail behind this and working through it will take a long time. Indeed it could well be in excess of two years before operators see any form of potential compensation, depending on how the case progresses through the CAT for either settlement discussions or even a trial” ... 
Tunbridge Wells, EN, UK - Logistics Manager - 3 November 2016

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Sep 24, 2016

IVECO's - at the IAA Trucks Show - * Italy: Unveiling the "Z Truck Comcept"

* Torino - Iveco focuses on autonomous trucking and green energy with its new concept truck
--- Iveco has thrown its hat into the sustainable heavy-duty truck ring with the launch of its natural gas-powered Z Truck concept at the IAA Commercial Vehicle Show... Like many of its ilk being launched in recent time, the Iveco Z Truck features automated driving technology, an aerodynamic design; and a waste heat recovery system... However, while some manufacturers have chosen the electric route, Iveco has fitted its concept with a powertrain fuelled by liquefied natural gas (LNG) technology and the use of bio-methane... 
... When pumped into Iveco’s new LNG engine, the fuel helps the Z Truck develop 460hp and 2,000Nm of torque over a 2,200km range... Stored in "conformable tanks", Iveco says the bio-LNG fuel is derived from refined biogas and "ensures low CO2 and ultra-low PM emission" levels... 
(Images: Iveco Z Truck Concept TradeTrucks) -- Torino, Piedmont, Italy - ATN (Australia) - 23 Sept 2016

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Aug 12, 2016

IVECO news * Italy - A LNG-powered heavy truck with a 1500km range

* Torino - IVECO has surged ahead in alternative to fuel solutions developing 

 --- The European truck brand is fast cementing itself as a leader in European alternative fuel solutions, recently taking large scale new orders of natural gas-powered commercial vehicles and buses... Part of the global CNH Industrial group, Iveco is a pioneer in natural gas technology having first begun developing alternative-fuelled vehicles over 35 years ago... Iveco is now recognised as a leader in natural gas research as well as in the sale of natural gas-powered vehicles across light, medium and heavy duty vehicles as well as buses... In June this year, Iveco announced a record order of 250 natural gas-powered trucks to the Jacky Perrenot Group, one of France's leading transport and logistics companies... The large order comprised 200 Stralis NP (Natural Power) and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) prime movers as well as 50 Stralis NP CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) rigid trucks... The Stralis NP prime mover is the first long haul LNG-powered heavy truck offering a range of up to 1,500 kilometres... 
(Photo: An Iveco Stralis NP similar to those recently delivered to the Jacky Perrenot Group)  --   Milan, Torino, Italy - Big Rigs - 11th Aug 2016

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Jul 19, 2016

EUROPEAN TRUCKMAKERS * Fined with 3,32 billions Euros - ** Each country hauliers could sue too

* Belgium - EU to fine truck makers over price-fixing and other collusion 

--- The European Union’s antitrust regulator is poised to impose its largest cartel fine ever on Tuesday, handing truck makers around €3 billion ($3.32 billion) in penalties after a probe into price-fixing and other collusion, several people familiar with the matter said... The European Commission has been investigating a handful of European truck makers for around five years over suspicions they fixed prices and colluded on timing over when to implement new emissions control technologies... U.S. heavy-truck maker Paccar Inc. said earlier this year it put aside $942.6 million for the case. Paccar’s European unit, DAF, makes trucks in the Netherlands, Belgium and the U.K. and sells them in Western and Eastern Europe... Germany’s Daimler AG has also said it has provisioned for more than €600 million in connection with the probe, while Iveco, a unit of Netherlands-based CNH Industrial NV, in March said it had set aside around $500 million... Swedish truck maker Volvo AB in late June boosted its provision to a total of €650 million...
(PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES - European Union members' flags in front of the European Parliament in Strasbourg)  --  Brussels, Belgium - The WSJ, by VALENTINA POP and NATALIA DROZDIAK - July 18, 2016


** Ireland - Truck makers may be sued by Irish hauliers in wake of fine 

--- European Commission fines Daimler, DAF, Iveco and Volvo/Renault over price fixing... Irish hauliers could sue the truck makers on which the EU yesterday imposed a record €2.9 billion fine for price fixing cartel between 1997 and 2011... Volkswagen-owned MAN was also involved in the scheme, but escaped a penalty because it tipped off the commission to the cartel’s existence... Under European law, Irish trucking companies that bought vehicles made by any of the companies during the period can sue the manufacturers if they believe they suffered damage as a result of the price fixing... President of Irish Road Hauliers’ Association Verona Murphy confirmed that new legislation due to come into force in the Republic by the end of this year would make it easier for anyone in this jurisdiction to take action against the companies found guilty of price fixing... Ms Murphy explained the new law, an EU directive, is due to come into force here by December 27th this year. It will allow Irish people to sue in the Republic’s courts on foot of rulings by other European competition authorities... 
Dublin, Ireland - Irish Times, by Barry O'Halloran - Jul 19, 2016

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Jun 1, 2016

RENAULT TRUCKS' news * Spain: 22 firefighters trucks sold

* The City of Madrid has just taken delivery of 22 Renault Trucks firefighting vehicles

-- Renault Trucks new trucks, which are D 4×4 Forest Fire Tenders, are from the Renault Fire & Rescue range and will be used by the city for firefighting operations and other missions in challenging environments... Fitted with 280hp Euro 6 compliant engines, Renault Trucks tell us the all-terrain vehicles are designed for firefighting, assistance and rescue missions of people in dangerous situations or in particularly hard to access locations around the city of Madrid... In particular, the Renault Trucks D vehicles feature protection for the electrical and pneumatic circuits as standard provided by fire resistant sheathing... While 500 litres of the on-board 3,080 litre water tank can be used to protect the vehicle from fire itself... The trucks have been fitted with a system that protects the cab and the tyres by projecting water onto them if the vehicle becomes trapped in the middle of a fire zone... The Renault Trucks fire-fighting range comprises 4×2, 6×4, 8×4 and 6×2 vehicles as well as 4×4, 6×6 and 8×8 all-wheel drive vehicles specially designed for fire-fighting and emergency services... 
(Photo: Renault Trucks protect the City of Madrid) -- Madrid, Sapin - Behind the Wheels, by KATE RICHARDS - May 29, 2016

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May 31, 2016

ANTITRUST: 4 Bn. E$U FINES * Europe / Germany: AGAINST TRUCKMAKERS

* Munich - VW's truck schizophrenia


-- The European Union could impose a €4 billion fine, its highest ever, on five truck manufacturers, including Volkswagen and Daimler. One VW truck maker, MAN, is cooperating with investigators while another, Scania, may be hit with a big penalty... Volkswagen’s acquisition of Scania last year, as part of its push to challenge commercial vehicle market leader Daimler, could prove to be a pricey and dicey move... But Scania is one of five companies, including Daimler, facing possible cartel fines of more than €4 billion ($4.53 billion), Handelsblatt has learned from sources familiar with the case... If that happened, the truck manufacturers would be paying the highest cartel fine ever imposed in Europe. All companies involved have declined to comment... The penalties would deal a serious blow to VW and the other truck makers whose sales in Europe have been slumping for months. Fierce competition for customers has led in many cases to massive discounts that are certain to impact the companies’ bottom lines... In November, the European Union sent charges to DAF, Iveco, Volvo and MAN, which is owned by Volkswagen, in addition to Daimler and Scania, accusing the European truck manufacturers of operating a long-running price-fixing cartel... The case puts VW in a difficult position – and has created a daunting challenge for the new head of its truck division, Andreas Renschler, who has been tasked with combining the company’s truck manufacturers MAN and Scania... 
(Bloomberg Getty Images: MAN truck repairs source) -- Munich, Germany - The Handelsblatt, by MARKUS FASSE & MARTIN MURPHY - (originally published 24 Feb 2016)  


* Meanwhile, MAN’s restructuring is far from complete... 

--- The partnership with Scania is helping, with MAN taking over the Swedish company’s large gear business while Scania manufactures axles for the Germans... In the future, the two companies will also cooperate in the development of engines and systems for the after-treatment of exhaust gases. Filters for diesel engines are already almost as expensive as the engines themselves... The truck maker is also expected to survive a European truck cartel investigation (See above) without fines, because it alerted the European Commission of price fixes in 2011... 
Munich, Germany - Handelsblatt Global Edition, by Markus Fasse - 30 May 2016

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May 30, 2016

TRUCKMAKERS news * Europe: Resisting to improve fuel consumption

Truckmakers accused of putting brakes on technological change

-- EU parliamentarians and environmental campaigners have long had suspicions about Europe’s truckmakers. For 20 years, lorries seemed strangely impervious to market forces that were supposed to make them more fuel efficient and reduce hazardous emissions... Some clues to the mystery emerged in November 2014, when Brussels levelled formal cartel charges against the continent’s biggest truck manufacturers: DAF, Daimler, Iveco, MAN, Volvo/Renault and Scania. Accused of widespread price-fixing between 1997 and 2011 and delaying the introduction of new emissions technologies, the companies are expected to receive the highest cartel fine in EU history in the coming months — running to several billion euros... But the cartel investigation is only one strand of a far broader pattern of alleged collusive behaviour by lorry makers and the governments that lobby for them... Environmental campaigners also allege that the truck industry has strongly resisted attempts to improve fuel consumption and slash emissions of carbon dioxide, the most significant greenhouse gas... Emissions from lorries are a subject of intense concern because they produce about 25 per cent of the CO2 from road transport, while representing fewer than 5 per cent of vehicles on the roads. Despite new, greener technologies being available, the European Commission reported in 2014 that heavy vehicles’ fuel efficiency had stagnated since the mid-1990s and estimated that their CO2 emissions increased 36 per cent between 1990 and 2010... The motor industry says that its performance in CO2 emissions should be rated over a longer timeframe, noting big improvements since the mid-1960s... ACEA, the European Motor Manufacturers’ Association, declined to comment specifically on the alleged cartel involving its members...
(Photo: A man walks past driver cabins in the truck production plant of German truck and bus-maker MAN AG in Munich, Germany July 30, 2015)   --   Brussels, Belgium - FT, by Christian Oliver in Brussels and Peter Campbell in London (UK) - May 29, 2016

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Apr 6, 2016

SELF DRIVING TRUCKS * Europe: A Revolution

* Sweden - The "autonomous big trucks show"

(Video from Scania Group - Apr 1, 2016: Crossing the border to Denmark. Next week the truck platoon will reach its destination)

-- European truck makers are pushing for the adoption of fuel-saving platooning technology that allows several trucks to automatically drive closely to each other. As part of that push, several manufacturers are taking part in the platooning challenge with the aim of moving a step closer to allowing the fuel-saving technology on roads... It currently is not possible to use the technology on Europe’s roads because legislation differs among countries on what is a safe driving distance between trucks. For the platooning challenge, trucks have been given special permission to deploy wireless communication, thereby enabling them to halve distances to 0.5 seconds between vehicles... Volkswagen's truck division will spend about half a billion euros by the end of the decade to enhance digital features of heavy-goods vehicles as truck makers increase their focus on automation in road haulage... The Scania contingent in the 2016 European Truck Platooning Challenge reached Belgium on April 1 for a demonstration at a race track, near Brussels. Embarking from Scania’s head office in Sodertalje, the three-truck wirelessly connected Scania platoon has travelled through Sweden, Denmark and Germany before reaching Belgium, the company said in a statement... MAN, part of VW's trucks division, has said platooning could help reduce diesel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in road freight transport by as much as 10%... Three Volvo trucks started a platoon demonstration drive from Gothenburg, Sweden, to Rotterdam, Netherlands, on March 18, Volvo Group said... 
 Sodertalje, Sweden - Transport Topics - 5 April 2016 


* Germany - Daimler has already a position with its self-driving tractor-trailers

(Image from Daimler - A convoy of three digitally connected Mercedes-Benz trucks began a demostration juourney from Stuttgart to Rotterdam on Monday. NOTE THE POSITION OF THE LEAD DRIVER'S ARMS)

-- German auto- and truck-maker Daimler said on Monday that three digitally connected and self-driving Mercedes-Benz trucks had begun a convoy drive from the German city of Stuttgart to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands... The demonstration is part of a European challenge to foster development of "platooning," the partial automation of convoys of tractor-trailers to save fuel, reduce emissions, and increase highway safety... But it also shows, in vivid detail, just how advanced Mercedes' self-driving technology is right now...

(Image: An interconnected convoy of self-driving tractor-trailers) 

 ... In addition to its well-known Mercedes-Benz cars, Daimler also has a significant truck and bus business. It builds and sells heavy-duty trucks (think tractor-trailers) under the Mercedes-Benz, Western Star, and Freightliner brands; medium-duty Fuso trucks, and Setra and Thomas Built buses...
Stuttgart, Germany - The Motley Fool - Apr 4, 2016

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Mar 19, 2016

AUTONOMOUS TRUCKS * Europe: World’s first cross-border truck platooning initiative

* Belgium - Six manufacturers will participate in semi-automated truck challenge

-- Europe is set to host the world’s first cross-border initiative with smart trucks, involving six truck manufacturers, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA)... The European truck-makers will bring platoons of semi-automated trucks to public roads, as part of the European Truck Platooning Challenge. The platoons will cross borders from various cities to reach their final destination of the Port of Rotterdam on April 6... The challenge is organised by the Netherlands and fosters collaboration between truck manufacturers, EU member states, logistics service providers, road operators, research institutes and government entities... Truck platooning refers to the linking of two or more trucks in a convoy, such that the vehicles closely follow each other at a fixed, close distance by using connectivity technology and automated driving support systems. The truck heading the platoon acts as the leader, with the vehicles behind reacting and adapting to changes in its movement... The practice allows for air drag to be reduced, and can potentially reduce CO2 emissions by up to 10%... The manufacturers participating in the challenge are DAF Trucks, Daimler Trucks, Iveco, MAN Truck & Bus, Scania and Volvo Group, the ACEA said... 
(Photo: Scania is one of the six manufacturers participating in the platooning challenge)   --  Brussels, Belgium - ME Construction News, by Jerusha Sequeira - 17 Mar 2016

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