A new year can mean a new perspective. Sure, you’re just flipping the calendar to a new month, but January always feels fresh–opportunity abound. So, what’s your New Year’s resolution? Maybe it’s to move toward greater sustainability. Or leverage technology to improve productivity. Or strengthen industry partnerships. Or simply to become more efficient. All of those are wonderful goals, but to navigate toward then, it’s best to have an idea of what’s coming down the line.
While there are few with a crystal ball clear enough to truly see what the future holds for the trucking industry this year, what is clear is how the industry is evolving–both in the equipment that you’re spec’ing and running and even the relationship between supplier and OEM. That was the view of Shaun Twomey, director, Americas, strategy, market and Sales, ZF.
Electrification is a major focus for OEMs and suppliers alike, for example. Consider ZF’s development of solutions like the AxTrax 2 electric powertrain. While the industry at large, and even this editor, is guilty oversimplifying electric powertrains (at least compared to diesel-driven workhorses), it does not diminish the demand for customization and flexibility in electric truck applications.
“When you take the driveline out from beneath the frame rails and you orient it as an e-axle, that gives you a couple of benefits,” Twomey explained. “It frees up space for things like batteries or fuel cells, and it also, potentially, lets you shorten the wheelbase of that vehicle. We think that at some point or another when an OEM doesn’t just want to do a refresh of a platform, but they want a clean sheet or rebuild of it, the e-axle is probably going to win out most of the time. Now, there’ll still be some cases where you have niche applications … and central drive will probably be around, but the lion’s share we’re pretty sure will be that e-axle.”
While the move towards electric trucks is a complex—impacting both equipment spec’ing options and the supplier/OEM relationship—the more you know about it makes it all that much more approachable. Watch the video above for all of Twomey’s insight.
