COMMENT: Retrofit e-axle hybrids arrive on US Class 8 truck scene

North American heavy-duty truck operators are more open than their European counterparts to the kind of innovative technologies emerging in the aftermarket. If there is some worthwhile fuel – and therefore running cost – saving in prospect, they are often ready to at least give such novel developments a trial.

Amid the flurry of electric drivetrain initiatives from major OEMs, the idea of incorporating, at much lower cost, an auxiliary electric power source into the driveline of a heavy-duty Class 8 truck already in service – with typically an up-to 12-year operating life expectancy – has obvious