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Linfox chairman Peter Fox is keen on electric trucks but says more charging stations are needed. COVENTRY STUDIOS
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by Jenny Wiggins
Linfox plans to be "the first mover" on electric trucks but will not shift its fleet away from fuel-powered vehicles until charging stations are installed on highways, says chairman Peter Fox.
The new Tesla truck was making a lot of truck manufacturers "stand up", Mr Fox told The Australian Financial Review. "Instead of having diesel power and carbon-powered engines, what are we doing in regards to the use of electric vehicles?"
Tesla revealed a prototype for an electric truck in November. The trucks, which will be able to travel for 500 miles at maximum weight before being charged, will be available from 2019.
Mr Fox said electric vehicles "had a part to play in the future" and that Linfox was testing electric trucks. "Given we're a leader in our industry, where there's innovation, we will be the first mover."
Linfox expects electric small trucks and vans to be operating in the next couple of years.
Electric trucks were "very relevant" to the group's Armaguard business, which transport cash and other valuable items around cities, he said.
But the trucking group will not adopt electric trucks throughout its fleet until there are enough charging stations to cover several thousands of kilometres of road.
"We can't update 7000 vehicles in one day and make them more electric, and if I did, I wouldn't have charging stations," Mr Fox said. "It's a great concept, but it's going to have a slow uptake." Emissions regulations
Mr Fox said he did not believe the federal government should subsidise electric vehicles to encourage people to use them.
But he said there was "logic" in older trucks with relatively high carbon emissions to be charged more to use the roads than more modern fuel-efficient vehicles.
The average age of Linfox is trucks two and a half years old, according to Mr Fox, while the average age of heavy rigid trucks in Australia is 16 years, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
The federal government has called for comment on proposals for improving the quality of fuel used in Australian vehicles to reduce emissions.
Mr Fox said a recent spate of fatal accidents in NSW involving trucks reflected "real safety concerns".
Australia should emulate European regulations and require trucks to install digital tachographs, which are devices fitted to vehicles that record speed and distance, Mr Fox said. Tachographs on trucks imported from Europe are disconnected when they are shipped to Australia.
Linfox is rolling out electronic work diaries across its fleet that require drivers to log on and do safety checks. The devices track speed and send signals to Linfox's control stations if a vehicle is going too fast.
Mr Fox also believes that legislation should be passed to prevent trucks from travelling in the far right lane of motorways, with penalties charged on trucks that do not comply.
Toll chief executive Michael Byrne, who formerly worked for Linfox, has also called for tougher regulations, sending a letter to Infrastructure and Transport Minister Barnaby Joyce in early January with six proposals. They include making telematics such as digital tachographs mandatory and introducing national regulations on licensing, rest times and speed limits.
The Australian Logistics Council (ALC) also wants telematics to be mandatory and has backed a national operator licensing system.
Mr Joyce is understood to have subsequently held meetings with several groups, including the Australian Trucking Association and the ALC, and plans to make a formal response to Mr Byrne.
Linfox this month announced management changes, with CEO Annette Carey stepping down to become a non-executive board director, and chief operating officer Mark Mazurek replacing Ms Carey.
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