Aeolus Truck & Driver News

A commitment by the Coalition Government to deliver $4 billion of funding for pothole prevention has been welcomed by the road transport industry.

Transport Minister Simeon Brown says the indicative funding levels for the National Land Transport Programme (NLTP) confirmed by NZTA are a record increase in funding to help fix potholes on both State Highways and local roads.

“NZTA has confirmed that over the next three years the agency will deliver a record $2.07 billion for State Highway Pothole Prevention and $1.9 billion for Local Road Pothole Prevention,” Mr Brown says.

“Compared to spend under the last government’s 2021-2024 NLTP, this represents a...

Two slips which occurred in late-April will delay the reopening of State Highway 1 over the Brynderwyn Hills until at least late-June.

The highway had been on track to fully reopen on May 13, but since the two significant slips on April 26 and April 30, NZTA and its contractors have undertaken geotechnical and safety assessments to determine the best option for stabilising the hillside and getting highway open as quickly as possible.

“While our plan is to reopen at the end of June, if there is a significant amount of unexpected rain, or further instability is found, that could delay the reopening timing,” says NZTA National Manager of Infrastructure Delive...

For the first time Daimler Truck has combined its battery electric drive technology into a truck which also boasts Level 4 autonomous capability.

The autonomous Freightliner eCascadia technology demonstrator 

is based on a production battery electric eCascadia and is equipped with autonomous driving software along with Level 4 sensor and processing technology developed by Torc Robotics. This will eventually enable Level 4 autonomous driving.

While still a research and advanced engineering project, the autonomous vehicle has the potential to evolve into a modular, scalable platform that is propulsion agnostic for flexible use in different truckin...

A battery electric version of the Isuzu F-series medium-duty truck is being developed for the North American market.

Accelera by Cummins, the zero-emissions business segment of Cummins Inc. is partnering with Isuzu on the project. Availability is expected in 2026 and will include Accelera’s next generation lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology.

“In line with our Isuzu Transformation – Growth to 2030 mid-term business plan, we continue to collaborate with Accelera by Cummins to deliver a variety of solutions for our customers that help reduce greenhouse emissions,” says Shaun Skinner, Executive Officer, Isuzu Motors Limited.

“This will also...

Containers are steadily flowing through the country’s newest inland freight hub, which even before its official opening in April was handling traffic, having been completed several months ahead of schedule and close to its 20 million dollar budget.

The Fairfield facility is four hectares in size, and adjoins the 120Ha Ashburton Business Park, off SH1 to the north of the mid-Canterbury town. The site has storage capacity for 800 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units), offers 120 reefer plug-in sites, and can handle 60 containers per day, equivalent to an annual throughput of 20,000 TEUs.

In turn, that can be boosted by greater train movements, which are likely...