Truck Parts and Service | Heavy Duty Trucking, Aftermarket, Service Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/897934
20 Cover Story "That's why the whole idea is to add electronic sensors and smart devices to these systems. It's not just about adding a microchip so the system can talk," he says. "It's about offering information and data to other systems in the vehicle, which can aggregate it so a decision can be made by the vehicle itself without requiring human input." "What we're seeing is not necessar- ily a revolution, but an evolution in the deployment of really wonderful safety- based and productivity-based solutions into trucking," Jolicoeur adds. The future of maintenance Onboard diagnostics and vehicle sys- tems are already so complex that newer model trucks are diffi cult to service outside of a dealership, and Kar says that will only continue to develop in the years ahead. "That is a trend that is driving more dealership revenues already," he says. "That is why OEMs are pushing prog- nostics so much. They want to divert that [repair] traffi c towards dealership." The push to keep all service and repair work away from the independent aftermarket, Kar says, will only heighten as trucking inches closer to driver- less trucks. In the event of an accident, who assumes the liability of a truck that doesn't have a human is muddled, but Kar says he expects that picture to become clearer and ultimately benefi t the OEM. He believes OEMs will assume some of the liability of their autonomous trucks, but will mandate they be serviced and maintained only by an authorized dealer. "If not, [they] will not stand by that liability coverage because you have com- promised the truck by using an indepen- dent repair facility," he says. "That could be another way for the OEM to generate income." Fuel of the future Arguably, the only trucking subject more hotly debated than autonomy is the electric powertrain's place in the years ahead. Connected trucks of the future will almost certainly be powered by one or a combination of options, including diesel, electric, hybrid or fuel cell. "Hybrid is a bridge to 100 percent electrifi cation," Kar says, noting hybrid technologies provide production scale for batteries which reduce their costs overall. "Maturity of electrics will come even faster. The more hybrid vehicles on the road, the faster battery costs come down." It's diffi cult to predict the preferred fuel of the future but Kar says as green energy momentum mounts, hydrogen will become a major player. "Electric technologies are made through a very carbon-intensive process," he says. "Of all the technologies, hydro- gen seems to be the most powerful yet most challenging." The lack of a commercial hydrogen infrastructure will be a major hurdle to clear, but recent developments by Toyota and the continued work of Nikola Motor Company on its fuel cell Class 8 truck have given the fuel some momentum. "Why hybrid is moving forward faster than electrifi cation," Kar says, "is that it doesn't need any additional infrastructure." While the passenger car industry tends to be used as a benchmark for where trucking is headed, Jolicoeur says the sophisticated communications used in the aviation industry — systems that allow tens of thousands of airplanes per day to relay their location and equipment status in real-time back to a centralized location with minimal human input — mirrors what is on the cusp of happening in trucking. "I see the [trucking] infrastructure headed in a similar direction," he says. "Whether a truck is an electric truck or fossil fueled, we're going to build out that infrastructure to ensure real-time com- munication with all vehicles on the road and use that real-time infrastructure for safety, mobility, productivity and a num- ber of other types of applications." The future of mobility and infrastructure Low fuel costs have stolen some of vehicle platooning's thunder recently, but Kar expects that to heat up in the immediate future. He expects platooning — the fi rst T R U C K P A R T S & S E R V I C E | N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 7 Immediate diagnosis of vehicle issues allows service providers to begin procuring parts and preparing for service when a bay is available.