Government chooses Leyland Trucks for £10m electric truck trial

Leyland Trucks is to participate in a DfT project designed to help operators make the transition to battery electric vehicles.

Scheduled for later this summer, the £10m trial will employ 20 DAF LF Electric 19-tonne rigids, together with the required charging infrastructure and data logging equipment.

An interactive website will inform future fleet operator buying decisions, help stimulate the sale of battery electric trucks and guide operators on the costs and considerations involved.

The project is part of the government’s £20m zero emission road freight trials and will be delivered using the SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) - a process that brings together government challenges and ideas from business to create innovative solutions.

It will focus on an end-to-end solution, covering vehicles, charging infrastructure, user training, repair and maintenance and total-cost-of-ownership and aims to provide operational insight across a variety of duty cycles.

Leyland Trucks will work with CENEX, the low carbon research consultancy, to create an interactive report and website using real-world data.

Leyland Trucks manufactures the DAF LF series of distribution vehicles, including the LF Electric which recently entered production at its Lancashire plant.

The manufacturer will partner with several end-users in the public sector during the trial, including various NHS operations. The remaining nine vehicles will go to local authorities to support recycling and deliveries to schools.

Bodywork will include ex-factory PACCAR box bodies and refrigerated bodywork from Gray & Adams.

“We’re delighted to have been selected to play such a key role in the initiative,” said Rob Lawton, project manager, at Leyland Trucks. “We’re proud to be leading the drive towards a cleaner, more sustainable future for the road transport industry. Our LF Electric and CF Electric vehicles offer the best solution for zero-emissions operation. The results from our NHS and local authority partners will support Leyland Truck’s extensive and long-term testing programmes to further strengthen our leading position in providing battery electric vehicles.”