Newsletters

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

Greetings HVTT family from New Zealand      It seems like an age since Quebec and HVTT18 and thank you Julien, Jonathan and the team at Université Laval for a fabulous symposium. In my role it’s easy to get swept along by the issues we face here but I’ve always found the HVTT symposia are a great way of bringing a sense of reality to what’s happening internationally in terms of research, technical development and policy areas. To demonstrate the value HVTT brings, fellow Kiwis, Doug Latto and Mark Robilliard, will join me to share their learnings and insights at the Institute... Read More

Free circulation of all types of B-doubles on Argentine National Roads The Argentine Government has authorized free circulation for all types of B-double vehicle configurations on the entire National Road Network. Resolution 1196/2025, published August 19th, 2025, eliminates time restrictions and the requirement to request specific corridors, allowing all B-doubles up to 75-ton and 30.25 meters, 9 axles to travel on almost the entire National Road Network. You have to give it to semantics, the resolution replaced the “positive exclusion” practice (which restricted circulation to specific approved corridors) with the “negative exclusion” principle (free circulation, except on few sections of... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, China’s Ministry of Transport Releases 2024 Transportation Industry Statistics Report in June 2025 In June 2025, China’s Ministry of Transport unveiled the 2024 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of the Transportation Industry. As of the end of 2024, China’s total operational highway vehicles reached 12.1224 million units, comprising 11.557 million freight vehicles (95.3%) and 565,400 passenger vehicles. The country operated 658,100 public buses and trolleybuses, with electric buses accounting for 74.1% (487,500 units)—a 13,600-unit increase from 2023—highlighting progress in promoting new energy public transit. In 2024, China handled 56.875 billion metric tons of freight volume, up 3.9% year-on-year, while freight turnover hit 25.4486 trillion ton-kilometers, a 5.7% YoY increase. China’s... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscribers, It has been a busy time of year for those of us in the heavy vehicle transport sector in the UK, with several of the major industry events taking place recently. This includes the Commercial Vehicle Show, Multimodal and the Road Transport Expo (my personal favourite), all of which take place near the city of Birmingham in the West Midlands region. This is perhaps apt given that the region—more specifically the areas of Coventry and the Black Country—is considered the birthplace of the UK’s automotive industry. Today, Jaguar Land Rover, Aston Martin and even Chinese OEM... Read More

Dear colleagues, It’s with pleasure that I bring you the HVTT Forum newsletter for May 2025. On the eve of HVTT18, I’ll cover some key developments and activities which are shaping heavy vehicle transport and technology in this part of the world. A big thanks to my fellow board members from Australia and New Zealand for helping to compile this newsletter! National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework A key development which is being implemented by Austroads is the National Heavy Vehicle Driver Competency Framework. The Framework aims to address inconsistencies in heavy vehicle driver licensing, enhance training quality nationally, and... Read More

Lithium Mining in La Puna Argentina: working together on the road to safety In my August 2023´s newsletter I wrote about lithium mining in South America´s “lithium triangle”, and how multinational companies´ sustainable reporting requirements on their global supply chains might have just been the right trigger to motivate local transport companies in the use of safe and productive heavy vehicle transport technologies and systems. Today I went to an event hosted by the Education, Science and Technology of the Salta Province, in Argentina. In the event, besides giving the diplomas to all graduates from the High-Altitude Driver course, companies... Read More

Dear HVTT newsletter subscribers, For this month’s newsletter, we’re focusing on North America, particularly Canada as our upcoming HVTT18 symposium is heading there in May. The organization is going great! We have a solid scientific program, and amazing social activities planned. Check out our website and register soon! We cannot talk about Canada at this moment without mentioning the tariffs that the U.S. has, will, could, may or may not (who knows!) impose on Canadian products. These tariffs have a major impact on the economy and the trucking industry as more than 60% of all Canada’s commercial exchanges are made with the... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber This month’s newsletter focuses on efforts to accelerate the transition to battery electric trucks on the African continent. My thanks to HVTT Forum Board member Abdool (AK) Kamdar (Manager: Decarbonisation and Drive to Zero, KDG Logistics, Durban), for providing the material. Last week, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and C40 Cities convened the Africa Electric Bus Workshop in Durban, South Africa. While the primary focus was on public transport electrification, AK was offered an electric truck session, which he had the privilege of co-chairing with Rudi Kriel of Better Rides. The session, entitled “eTrucks in... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber, As the turbulent year of 2024 slowly comes to an end, I would like to share with you the final newsletter of the year and update you on some recent developments here in Europe. This edition focuses on the slow but steady progress in piloting new types of longer and heavier vehicles in Germany and the Netherlands, as well as updates on EU policy regarding vehicle dimensions and weights. The later contribution comes from our board member, Tim Breemersch. Tim is a senior researcher at Transport Mobility Leuven in Belgium and has been a member of the board since HVTT15 in Rotterdam. Super... Read More

Greetings HVTT family from the Antipodes, While many of you will know I like trucks and what they do, I thought I would focus this newsletter on money, and more particularly money for investment in roads. But firstly, some comment on heavy transport activity. With some softness in some of the global markets, such as meat and wood, and a quiet domestic market that has teetered around technically meeting the definition of an economy in recession, unsurprisingly the NZ heavy transport activity is quiet and a number of companies under considerable financial strain.  There are some positives though, comparing values... Read More

Dear HVTT Forum subscriber, Earlier in October, I had the opportunity to travel to Québec City where I met with colleagues at Université Laval, the host organization for HVTT18, May 25 to 29, 2025. This newsletter begins by showcasing several of the exciting features of the upcoming symposium! Please check the HVTT18 website for regular updates. Robust technical program: We were pleased to accept 77 abstract submissions and look forward to receiving full papers. We anticipate offering a full double-track program exploring the future of S2MART (sustainable, safe, modern, adaptable, resilient, trustworthy) road freight transport systems. Authors should submit their papers via our... Read More