26 June 2020

• 810 commercial vehicles built in May, down -61.6% as many plants remain shuttered amid coronavirus lockdown.
• Year-to-date production down -29.8%, compared with an already low volume May in 2019 amid key model changeovers.1
• Production for both home and overseas markets falls, down -60.3% and -63.2% respectively.

UK commercial vehicle (CV) production was down -61.6% in May, with 810 vehicles leaving factory gates, according to the latest figures released today by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Many plants remained closed in the month, while others resumed operations at a reduced capacity. The fall in output follows a particularly weak May 2019, which saw a -69.9% decline due to key model changeovers.

Year-to-date commercial vehicle output fell -29.8% compared with the first five months of 2019. As some production resumed, 43.3% of commercial vehicles built were for export in May, with more than two thirds (68.7%) exported to the EU, following the gradual re-opening of showrooms in some European markets.

A recent SMMT member survey confirms the continued importance of government support measures such as the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, with a third (33%) of automotive employees still on furlough. As the CV sector approaches restart, however, there are significant concerns over cash flow and liquidity, with 70% of automotive businesses experiencing challenges in this area. As the furlough scheme tapers to an end in November, the survey reveals that up to one in six jobs are at risk of redundancy.2

Mike Hawes, SMMT Chief Executive, said,

With many plants still shut and those open operating at reduced capacity, these figures illustrate the need for urgent support to drive a successful restart. Measures to drive demand, boost liquidity and facilitate short-time working as production ramps up are essential for light and heavy commercial vehicle makers as well as the struggling bus sector. Restoring operator confidence is key to fleet renewal and thus ambitions for a green recovery.

Notes to editors

1. CV production in May 2019 – 2,110; CV production in May

02 July 2020

A new biomethane refuelling station in Warrington is now open, signalling a possible sea-change towards a new fuel of choice for HGV fleets.

CNG Fuels’ ‘superstation’ will be Europe’s largest biomethane fuelling station. With its sister outlet, which recently opened in Northampton, the two sites are capable of refuelling more than 1,000 HGVs a day.

This more than doubles the capacity of CNG Fuels’ refuelling network which could previously handle up to 600 vehicles per day at its sites in Leyland, Lancashire and Crewe, Cheshire.

It all points to a phenomenal surge in demand for the fuel, which CNG says is up 800%, and there will be no let up.

Already CNG is planning to add another six to eight stations nationwide over the next 12 months to keep up with industry demand for biomethane or biomethane compressed natural gas, with the company predicting that the number of HGVs and buses running on natural gas will increase six-fold to 60,000 by 2030.

Philip Fjeld, CEO of CNG Fuels, said, “We’re at a tipping point. Fleet operators are waking up to the urgency and scale of decarbonisation necessary for net-zero emissions by 2050 and we’re seeing demand for our fuel increase rapidly as a result.

“Our customers ordered hundreds of new biomethane fuelled trucks in 2019 and that trend is only set to accelerate over the next decade.

“We’re making the transition to carbon neutrality easier for fleet operators by developing a nationwide network of public access biomethane stations on major trucking routes and at key logistics hubs.”

CNG Fuels’ numbers make it easy to see why a growing number of fleets are seeing biomethane as a more attractive choice. The company says it has helped hauliers save 55,000 tonnes of CO2 since it began supplying renewable and sustainable Bio-CNG product in 2017.

That’s expected to rise to 90,000 tonnes by the end of 2020 thanks to major brands such as John Lewis Partnership, parcel company Hermes, and Home Bargains committing to switching from diesel.

100% of the fuel supplied by CNG Fuels is renewable and sustainable biomethane approved under the Department for Transport’s Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) scheme. The gas is currently sourced from waste feedstocks, such as food waste, cutting vehicle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by up to 85%. It also has the added benefit that it is 35%-40% cheaper than diesel.

The company is now securing supplies of biomethane from manure to create a fuel that will be net zero emissions on a well-to-wheel basis. It expects to begin offering fully carbon neutral biomethane across all sites from next year at the same price as the renewable biomethane fuel it currently supplies.

The station in Warrington is located at Omega South on the M62, catering to several major hauliers based in the area. It can refuel up to 800 HGVs daily and serve 12 vehicles simultaneously.

Its sister station in Northampton station meanwhile is situated at the Red Lion Truckstop off the M1 and can refuel more than 350 HGVs a day. The site is also part of a large scale UK-wide study, supported by the Office for Low Emissions Vehicles (OLEV) in partnership with Innovate UK, to determine how renewable and sustainable biomethane can help slash road transport emissions.

Among the companies leading the way with biomethane are parcel company Hermes, which plans to use the new Warrington filling station as a springboard towards the replacement of its 200-strong fleet of diesel trucks, along with Home Bargains, Argos, Royal Mail, and DHL.

Meantime, John Lewis Partnership (JLP) announced last week that it is building a biomethane gas filling station of its own at its Bracknell Waitrose site to fuel 120 HGVs, as it pulls forward its ambition to eliminate fossil fuels from its fleet by 2030.

That station will be built in conjunction with Air Liquide and will open in December 2020, making it the business’s first on-site gas filling station.

Justin Laney, JLP partner and general manager of central transport, said, “The evidence of climate change is all around us, so it’s important we act now using available technology rather than wait for unproven solutions to appear.”

Mervyn McIntyre, Head of Network Fleet & Vehicle Compliance at Hermes Parcelnet, added, “We’re proud our of move towards a more sustainable future as the first parcel carrier to invest in biofuels for our first-mile fleet. This will ultimately benefit people across the UK as we all look to reduce our carbon footprint.”

Alan Beech, Fleet and Compliance Manager at Home Bargains/T.J. Morris, said, “Home Bargains started operating its first ten CNG tractor vehicles in December 2019. The experience has been very positive, and we have witnessed first-hand the benefits of running our trucks on biomethane. We have worked closely with CNG Fuels over several years to develop our gas fleet strategy and are delighted to see the first ten vehicles in operation. We are looking to add more CNG vehicles to our fleet and expect the first ten vehicles to reduce total GHG emissions by more than 1,200 tonnes a year, compared to running diesel vehicles.”

The supply of gas to the new refuelling stations will come through pipelines managed by gas network, Cadent.

David Jones, Transport Strategy Manager at Cadent said, “It’s clear that big-name companies are now confident to switch from diesel to gas as a green answer to fuelling their HGV fleets and supporting the UK’s journey to net zero. Biomethane is a ‘here now’ solution to tackling climate change and a low-carbon alternative to diesel for HGVs, while a zero-carbon option, in the form of hydrogen, is coming within a few years.”

02 July 2020

Land Rover’s legendary Defender Hard Top name will be making its return with the new commercial Defender 90 and 110 models.

The Defender Hard Top will be launched later this year using a name that dates back to 1950, when the introduction of demountable hard tops gave early-series Land Rovers added security and protection from the elements against their soft-top counterparts.

Land Rover says the all-new Defender Hard Top continues this ethos, sharing its fixed metal roof and silhouette with the iconic original.

The new Defender 90 and 110 models were unveiled last September, and the new Hard Top models will be the next additions to the series.

Boasting an aluminium-intensive body architecture, the Defender Hard Top is three times stiffer than the best body-on-frame designs. Sharing its strong body structure and next-generation Electrical Vehicle Architecture (EVA 2.0) with passenger models, the Defender Hard Top is being developed by Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations. The 90 and 110 Hard Tops will both feature independent coil-sprung suspension, with advanced electronic air suspension also available on the 110.

Michael van der Sande, Managing Director, Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations, said, “We will maximise the functionality and usability of New Defender’s cargo area, with tough materials and clever storage solutions to ensure it surpasses the capability of any previous Defender Hard Top.”

With a payload and towing capacity of up 3,500kg the New Defender features a flexible cabin that has no second or third-row seats, but the optional front-row jump seat means it will still accommodate up to three people.

02 July 2020

Tell us a bit about your business. When were you founded, where are you based and how many people do you employ?

Drive System Design (DSD) was founded in 2007 as an engineering consultancy specialising in vehicle drivelines. It is headquartered in Leamington Spa with facilities in Michigan, USA, and South Korea. DSD employs more than 100 engineers and specialists who serve markets globally.

The Leamington Spa headquarters has been the subject of an ambitious expansion programme, inspired by growing customer demand, and the US-based testing centre was opened last year.

What does the business do?

DSD is a vehicle driveline expert specialising in electrified drivelines. It has worked closely with vehicle manufacturers to advance driveline development and is transferring this expertise to the commercial vehicle industry, which is traditionally at a lower stage of adoption than passenger cars.

Whether it is a ground up design of a new driveline, or optimising efficiency of an existing product, we can do this and everything in between – including the design of drivelines and electrification systems, development of control systems, testing and manufacturing prototypes.

How is business? What’s the outlook for the year ahead?

Of course, COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the global automotive industry. We are fortunate in that we can continue technology development and take the time to carefully analyse global markets and their varied requirements, ensuring that our focus and ongoing work is precisely optimised for individual and regional needs.

Also, product development for the commercial vehicle sector is a long, highly complex process, which we have found has been more resistant to unrest caused by the global pandemic. In short, the challenges remain the same, the technologies continue to evolve and DSD remains at the forefront of optimising electrified solutions.

What are the big issues or technology advances that fill you with positivity?

Commercial vehicle electrification is hugely exciting. The challenges are comparably vast, but the appetite for adoption of emissions-reducing technology is helping the development of next-generation drivelines. Range and charge times allied to optimised payload is obviously a clear hurdle to overcome, but incremental driveline improvements can combine to provide substantial efficiency benefits, making electrification and automation key technologies for our customers.

Automating gear shifts continues to provide a significant opportunity for the commercial vehicle industry through improving driveline efficiency, reducing the reliance on nuanced driver skill and extending component lifecycle through the elimination of aggressive use.

With the ultimate goal of reducing truck and bus transmission total life cost, alongside cutting emissions, DSD has developed automated shifting technologies that mirror the tough expectations of a fiercely competitive sector: typically 400,000 miles for medium duty and over a million miles for heavy duty applications.

Chief Engineer, DSD, Mike Savage