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Renault has announced its second generation of electric trucks, suited for all types of haulage work, which will be available before the end of 2018. With concerns about air quality, particularly in urban areas, and global CO2 levels at an all-time high, this is a well-timed launch that will help hauliers make the switch to electric vehicles.
This article will give a brief overview of the range, and perhaps persuade you to think about making the change to a fully electric vehicle in the next few years.

Renault and Electric Vehicles

Renault has been working on hybrid and electric vehicle technology for an entire decade. They describe themselves as experts in the field, offering a huge range of options for their customers, as well as plenty of support to help people transition to the new tech.

What is on Offer?

With the range offering vehicles suitable for all kinds of haulage work, from last mile to refuse collection, Renault is putting forward the widest choice of electric vehicles ever. The range includes trucks with weights from 3.1 tonnes to 26 tonnes. The Master ZE will be available in autumn 2018, with panel van and platform cab variants, however, if you want to use the Renault Trucks 16t D ZE and 26t D Wide ZE for your haulage work, you’ll have to wait until the end of 2019. The 16t D ZE model is well-suited to temperature-controlled deliveries and haulage work in urban areas.

All models have zero tailpipe emissions of CO2 and local pollutants. Alongside the environmental benefits, these trucks come fitted with a variety of useful tech, such as a reversing camera and a reversing radar system.

The Practicalities

• Compliance: The trucks are fully compliant, even in urban areas, as they do not emit CO2 or local pollutants. They are also very quiet, reducing congestion during the day by allowing out-of-hours deliveries. • Charging: Batteries for different models have different charge times, though all are fairly practical, allowing easy overnight charging. The Master ZE range takes six hours to charge the batteries, which are located under the front seats. These batteries have an operating range of roughly 190 miles. The D ZE trucks with lithium batteries can be fully charged in just a couple of hours using the 150kW Combo CCS connector. With AC charging, batteries need 12 hours. AC charging may be more practical for those just getting started with electric vehicles, as a three-phase 380V 32A industrial power socket can be used. • Cost: With the impressive technological advances made in electromobility over the past few years, investing in an electric vehicle has become economically feasible for hauliers. They are certainly the future and Renault has made electromobility a viable option for small and large operations alike.

For those involved in haulage work, the time has never been better to switch to electric. With this new range, Renault has made taking that decision significantly easier, so why not give it some serious consideration?

Norman Dulwich is a Correspondent for Haulage Exchange, the leading online trade network for the road transport industry. Connecting logistics professionals across the UK and Europe through their website, Haulage Exchange provides services for matching haulage work with available drivers. Over 5,400 member companies are networked together through the Exchange to fill empty capacity, get new clients and form long-lasting business relationships.

Courier work can be challenging, with long hours spent on the road transporting goods back and forth. Sometimes, though, a job comes along with a bit of a twist – an interesting story, something outside the ordinary.
Bathgate-based Eagle Couriers, Scotland’s leading courier firm, are working on one such job right now. They’re used to moving goods for consumers and businesses, but over the past year or so they’ve taken on some very unusual cargo: deceased birds of prey. Read on for more on how one business delivered over 40 specimens in the past year.

The Project

Let’s get the obvious question out of the way first. Who would need so many dead birds of prey? In fact, who would need any? The answer lies in the University of Edinburgh’s Royal School of Veterinary Studies, where graduate students and faculty have created a major spike in demand for samples.

In a nutshell, PhD candidate Gabriela Peniche tests the birds to determine their cause of death. She then looks closer at this information to learn about the toxins in the surrounding environment. In this way, Eagle Courier’s work goes beyond the birds to actually help out the entire ecosystem.

The Job

University researchers can do a lot, but they’d probably struggle to gather their own samples – especially when the project involves analysing birds from all over Scotland. That’s where Eagle Couriers come in, making use of a top-level delivery network to gather specimens from as far out as the Western Isles and Orkney.

But not all dead birds of prey discovered get sent to the team. Any found in ‘suspicious circumstances’ must be given to the police or the RSPCA to begin an investigation into any foul play. Once the investigation has closed, the sample can then be taken by an Eagle driver to the university.

Responses and Reactions

It’s a little out of the ordinary for courier work, but Eagle was happy to take up the job. In fact, co-director Fiona Deas described working with the university as a ‘privilege’. Eagle is, she says, ‘passionate about conservation’, and sees its cooperation with the project as part of its broader environmental efforts.

As for what it’s like to move wild animals, including peregrine falcons and golden eagles, Deas keeps it simple: ‘We’ve seen it all,’ she said.

Peniche also took time out of her PhD programme to single out her drivers for praise. ‘These sorts of deliveries obviously pose issues,’ she noted, but went on to add that Eagle Couriers had drivers all over the country and have been able to make the project run very smoothly.

It’s always a good thing to get complimented on your courier work, and the fact that both sides seem so happy about their collaboration on this project speaks to their healthy working relationship. What’s more, as Peniche notes, the company name fits perfectly! ‘The cherry on the cake really is the novelty of being able to say my eagles are brought in by Eagle Couriers.’

Author Plate

Norman Dulwich is a correspondent for Courier Exchange, the world’s largest neutral trading hub for same day courier work in the express freight exchange industry. Over 5,400 member companies are networked together through the Exchange to fill empty capacity, get new clients and form long-lasting business relationships.