Newsletters

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, This newsletter provides an overview of heavy commercial vehicle transport trends, regulatory updates and field trials across China during the first half of 2026, together with personal reflections on the long-term development of double trailer combinations in China. China’s Road Freight Market and Uptake of New Energy Heavy-Duty Vehicles Official statistics from the 2025 China Transport Industry Development Report lay the foundation for understanding China’s heavy truck market. By the end of 2025, China had 11.69 million operational freight vehicles, forming the backbone of domestic land freight. Annual road freight volume reached 43.29 billion tones, sustaining... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, My last newsletter was in March at the start of spring in the UK. I now have the autumn slot, though it certainly does not feel like it with temperatures in the mid-20s across the in the East and South East. The theme has been relatively consistent throughout September, with temperatures averaging 2.6C warmer than normal for this time of year. Furthermore, we are still in the doldrums of an ongoing “hosepipe ban” initiated in July throughout most of England, breaches of which can result in fines up to £1,000. Reservoir levels across England are at... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber, The main subject of this month’s newsletter is an update on the adoption of electric trucks in Africa, reported by Abdool Kamdar, HVTT Forum Board member and Technical Lead: Africa, Smart Freight Centre. I also report on my recent trip to Namibia regarding the PBS/High-Capacity Vehicle pilot project. And of course there is the regional weather update. Electric trucks in Africa Africa has been lagging other parts of the world in terms of road freight emissions accounting and reduction, as well as electrification. In response to this, the Smart Freight Centre’s training work in Africa has followed... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, Welcome to the latest regional update from the HVTT Forum. Being summer and winter holidays, I invite you for a South American tour of what is going on in the heavy road transport in the region. From high-altitude mining routes in the Andes to heavy agricultural corridors in Brazil, operators and regulators are trying out and/or fully embracing High Productivity Heavy Vehicles (HPHVs) and alternative powertrain technologies. So here are a few key updates: Argentina: 75-Ton, 25-Meter B-double Conquers the High Andes On July 22nd, a 75-tonne Gross Combination Mass (GCM), 25-meter B-double successfully completed a... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, Greetings from Europe, where discussions on high-capacity vehicles continue to be considerably more dynamic than progress towards a harmonised European framework. With summer approaching, several interesting developments have emerged across the continent regarding high-capacity vehicles (HCV), illustrating once again that innovation often moves faster than regulation. But before that, let me share some exciting updates on the preparations for our next HVTT Symposium, which will be once again held jointly with ICWIM, continuing the successful collaboration we enjoyed in Brisbane (2023) and Paris (2008). In 2027, the symposium will be hosted in the beautiful city of... Read More

Hi everyone, Greetings from Down Under! In the essential and traditional weather update: I can sadly report that winter has officially started here in the Southern Hemisphere with temperatures dropping below 7 degrees during the nights in Brisbane and I had to dig out my jumpers! The heavy vehicle industry in both Australia and New Zealand is going through some challenging times, but I think that is the same everywhere. Let’s start with New Zealand. The primary production sector is the backbone of New Zealand’s economy, driven primarily by dairy, meat, wool, horticulture, forestry, and seafood. The dominating transport constraint... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber, This month’s newsletter focuses on the theme of truck safety, specifically highlighting two recent truck safety developments in the Canadian context. As HVTT marks its 40th anniversary in 2026, it seems appropriate to reflect on this theme since it was one of the key objectives of the technical analysis conducted as part of the Canadian Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Study in 1986. That study underpinned the development of Canada’s Memorandum of Understanding on Vehicle Weights and Dimensions (an MoU that is still active today) and was instrumental in the formation of HVTT. The 1986 Study pursued three principal objectives: improving truck safety,... Read More

Hello everyone, I hope this message finds you well. I trust operations with your heavy-duty vehicles have not been overly affected by recent rises in fuel prices. Affected by ongoing tensions in the Middle East, diesel prices in China have risen by 10.5% since the start of 2026, reaching approximately US$1.19 per litre. This has not only increased the cost of road transportation but also strengthened the Chinese government’s resolve to accelerate the electrification of commercial vehicles. Authorities plan to continue promoting the replacement of older diesel trucks, while further expanding electrification in urban logistics and public transport. At the same time, China’s... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, I would like to begin this newsletter by marking a very special milestone in the history of our community. In 2026, we celebrate 40 years since the first Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions Symposium (HVWD1), held in Kelowna, Canada, in 1986, which laid the foundations for what would later become the HVTT Forum. The Forum itself was formally established at the third HVWD symposium in Cambridge, UK, in 1992, as the “International Forum for Heavy Vehicle Weights and Dimensions”. It was later renamed the International Forum for Road Transport Technology (IFRTT), and then in 2019 adopted its... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber I trust that you have experienced a good start to 2026, even though we are certainly living in uncertain times! Besides an update on weather in the Region (which is significant I might add), there are two topics in this newsletter: progress with the introduction and rollout of electric trucks in Africa, input from Abdool Kamdar, an HVTT Board member, and the first phase of a project regarding the use of Weigh-in-Motion (WIM) equipment for overload control law enforcement in South Africa, input from Gerhard de Wet, an ISWIM Board member, and me. Unlike many electric... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber, Greetings from Canada! It’s hard to believe that six months have passed since HVTT18 Symposium in Québec City! As the calendar turns to December, Winnipeg’s temperatures have turned cold, but we remain remarkably snow-free! I begin this newsletter with a topic that has dominated news headlines in Canada for the past several months: the fast-tracking of major projects deemed in Canada’s national interest. I’ll also highlight ongoing work by the HVTT Board to organize a learning and collaborative exchange in 2026, plus a must-attend workshop coming soon! Projects of national (Canadian) interest: Implications for road freight... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, Welcome to this autumn edition of the HVTT newsletter from Europe. In this issue I would like to report on two developments, from Germany and the Netherlands, which illustrate how high capacity vehicles -specifically A-double-  are moving very slowly yet steadily from pilot ideas to practical, interoperable systems — and how technology, regulation, and logistics are coming together in this transformation. EcoDuo pilot successfully completed in Germany After a year of intensive practical testing between Wolfsburg, Lehrte, and Barcelona, the EcoDuo pilot project in Germany has been successfully completed. The pilot, conducted under real-world logistics conditions, demonstrated significant potential for improving freight transport efficiency. The German EcoDuo combination... Read More