Sustainable Transport | Battery Electric (BEV) Trucks
On July 12th 2022, a Fuso eCanter, Fuso’s first factory production-run electric truck to hit the roads in the Southern Hemisphere, was handed over by TR Group and Fuso New Zealand to Genesis. With its 7.5 tonne capacity and 150km per charge capability, the eCanter is ideal for short-haul metro applications.
TR Group’s General Manager, Brendan King, says that “the transport industry has been a big contributor to emissions, but the feeling is that we really want to do the best we can to help change that” and by partnering with like-minded companies like Fuso and Genesis, TR Group believes that a more sustainable future in transport is achievable.
Genesis Energy
Brad Phillips, Genesis Energy’s Fleet Engineering & Reliability Manager, said that the potential conversion to EV’s was exciting. “There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit for the transport industry. We have a lot of regional distribution here, and electric vehicles really do fit with that. If we want to decarbonise transport in New Zealand, this is a project we should get behind,” Philips said.
Watch the video below to learn more about Genesis Energy’s EV journey.
HEB Construction
TR Group’s goal to create a sustainable transport future today is being made possible by partnering with like-minded companies like HEB Construction. In July 2022, we delivered their first Fuso eCanter traffic truck in Christchurch. This traffic truck is 100% battery-electric, reducing greenhouse emissions, so ultimately better for the environment.
Ricky McGough and Dee Mackie from HEB Construction talk about their first time behind the wheel in the video below.
TR Group Electric Rental Trucks
TR Group has taken delivery of three electric 11-tonne GVM 4x2 SEA powered curtainside trucks suitable for the round-town pickup and delivery market.
The company has purchased the vehicles with co-funding from the Government’s Low Emission Vehicles Contestable Fund, administered by the Energy efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA).
The vehicles are available for rental to the wider NZ Transport sector as of May 2021. As a sign of the growing viability of Battery Electric Heavy Commercial Vehicles, the three units will join a further ten EVs that are currently under build or at work in TR’s Lease fleet with customers such as The Warehouse, Noel Leeming, TOLL, and Civic Contractors.
TR Group’s Managing Director, Andrew Carpenter, said that the company is excited by the positive impact the vehicles will have on the transport sector and the environment.
“There is no doubt that EV technology has advanced to the point where in the not too distant future it will become an economically-viable, operationally reliable option certainly in short-haul metro applications. And it is also one that I know our customers will embrace, given their desire to minimise their carbon footprint and meet their sustainability goals.”