JAC announces positive testing on electric truck

Following its showing at the Brisbane Truck Show, JAC has had its test truck doing service as a delivery vehicle for furniture retailer Fantastic Furniture in Brisbane.

The trials were run by All Purpose Transport, the transport provider for Fantastic Furniture, and a number of other leading retail operations around the country.

During the trials the new JAC N55 EV, which looks remarkably like an Isuzu N-Series, has proved a winner for All Purpose and Fantastic Furniture, returning strong flexibility, range, driveability and performance.

The JAC N55 is fully imported from China and has a GVM of 4500kg or 5500kg with the former being able to be driven on a car licence.

All Purpose Transport’s Divisional Manager – New Furniture, Mitch Devine, said the JAC impressed with its good throttle response, quiet operation and power to allow smooth transition in traffic flow.

“The N55 is nice to drive and handles well and the cabin is comfortable and spacious, while the dash is nice and clear,” said Mitch Devine.

Jason Pecotic, managing director of BLK Auto, the Australian and New Zealand distributor for JAC trucks, said the trials with All Purpose Transport have proved very promising and encouraging and the truck will move on to other major fleets in Sydney and Melbourne over the next few weeks.

Mr Pecotic told Trucksales that he is looking to begin sales and distribution in the fourth quarter of this year. “Our testing program has been a bit upset by the COVID lockdowns in Sydney,” he said. “But we’ve got another 20 trucks on the way which should be here in September.”

Mr Pecotic said he has already sold two trucks and has 15 companies lined up for trials.

Asked whether the JAC electric trucks would be for sale or lease like the Fuso eCanter, Mr Pecotic was emphatic: “The trucks will be for sale for $147,750,” he said.

“We can do a body for $19,500, and a charger for $19,500. That will be a smallish 26kW charger which would be fine for a company that is doing deliveries during the day and charging at night say for four to six hours. Otherwise we can do a larger charger with quicker charging times but for a bigger cost.”

As to warranty, Mr Pecotic said that the warranty would be in three parts: “We will be offering an eight-year warranty on the battery, a five-year warranty on the motor and a three-year warranty on the truck,” he said.

In the near future BLK Auto will be importing an all-electric van to sit alongside the M55 truck, and there will also be an upgraded 7500kg version of the truck with “more to come in the future”.

“The initial trials have proved our claims about range (200km), driveability as well as performance, and we are pleased that All Purpose has been very happy with the truck,” said Jason.

Mitch Devine backed up the range claims saying: “Our longest day of testing so far saw the JAC perform extremely well, covering 139 kilometres of actual delivery operation, with about one third of that on highway and two thirds on suburban streets using about 73 per cent of its battery capacity.

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“It has also proved quick and easy to charge and on several days we covered around 50km, using about 25 per cent of its battery capacity, which we were able to charge back to full capacity around 55 minutes,” Mitch said.

“The vehicle handled the deliveries well and had plenty left in the tank for more deliveries as required and our aim for the remainder of the trials is to push the vehicle out in regards to both distance and battery utilisation,” he said.

All Purpose Transport’s general manager Paul Kalhart welcomed the JAC N55 as a new competitive alternative in the EV market as the company pursues its zero emission goals.

“All Purpose Transport commenced our EV journey in 2019 with a goal of 35 zero emission vehicles by 2025,” said Paul Kalhart.

“JAC’s new offering of EV to the Australian market has opened an alternative competitive solution to fleets replacing their diesel motors with a carbon neutral option. We thank BLK Auto for giving us the opportunity to undertake a month-long real-life test drive of their JAC equipment,” he added.

Mr Petocic concluded: “It is clear that this is a very competitive product that delivers strong range and zero emissions at a price that is extremely competitive, and it is already arousing lots of interest in the market from other operators who are seeking a cost-competitive zero-emission transport solution,” he said.