TR GROUP ‘LEADS THE WAY’ IN SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT SOLUTIONS
Founded in 1992, TR Group is described as New Zealand’s leading truck and trailer rental and lease provider. Everything TR Group does is undertaken with its customers at the forefront of their mind says national sales manager Shane O’Grady.
Over the past 18 months, TR Group has introduced 41 battery electric trucks to the company’s rental and lease fleets. So far, these trucks have travelled over 570,000 kilometres without using a drop of diesel, which the company says works out to an environmental saving of over 233,181kg of CO2 not being emitted into the atmosphere.
“Everything we do at TR Group is focused on making heavy fleet management easy for our customers, so it makes sense that we focus on innovative technology, especially regarding sustainability. In the last year or so, we’ve had many important key learnings from our experiences with these BEV,” says O’Grady.
Feedback from drivers on the vehicles is “very positive, and in most applications, the vehicles have exceeded the customer’s initial expectations”.
Since an electric truck is quiet and produces no fumes or vibrations compared to a diesel truck, driver acceptance of the BEVs is very high. Neil Bretherton, TR Group’s driver training general manager, adds: “Driver training, at handover, and once the truck is in service, has been crucial to maximising driver experience. Driving an electric truck is different from a diesel truck. Both acceleration and braking are different, and this does require follow-up training in most cases. We’ve also found that teaching good route planning is key to lowering the driver’s anxiety when it comes to determining the maximum range of the vehicle and that charging the BEVs during loading or rest breaks ensures maximum utilisation.”
Regarding range and charging, it is essential that operators understand what the power supply capabilities are at their sites when installing charging infrastructure. TR Group has seen that installing a charger that is rated higher than what is required for the vehicles can result in longer charging times.
As with any truck in the TR Group fleet, relationships with suppliers are crucial to the reliability and uptime of BEVs, and TR Group says these are in place to effectively manage ongoing maintenance and servicing requirements.
All of TR Group’s OEM suppliers have factory-trained technicians ready to help in the unlikely event that something goes wrong.
TR Group also has the first-ever hydrogen fuel cell truck in their fleet, which is “out working for New Zealand Post”.
The company says that the truck is the first of its kind on New Zealand roads, and started operating in May. So far, it has covered over 4,000 kilometres.
Managing director of TR Group, Andrew Carpenter, says: “This is a unique step forward for TR Group and our customers. We are excited to continue our learning with these zero-emission vehicles as they travel more kilometres and deliver more freight around New Zealand. Reducing carbon emissions from heavy commercial vehicles will be a key contributor to New Zealand reaching its carbon reduction targets by 2035, and we are looking forward to playing our part both today and in the years to come.”