News and Views

Two-Pedal Trucks Talk To The Australian Market

The Australian market’s move away from stick-shift manual transmissions is no secret. This year alone, over 80% of all trucks sold up to 4500kg GVM have been specified with a twopedal automatic or automated manual transmission (AMT).

The trend continues right across the GVM spectrum, and it’s a stark comparison to around 10 years ago when 50% of all trucks sold were ordered with a manual transmission.

Beyond ease of use and fuel economy, Isuzu Australia Limited (IAL) National Sales Manager, Les Spaltman, noted the trend points to some intriguing factors within the Australian road-transport industry.

“Uptime and the efficient application of equipment is something Aussie businesses do really well, but there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to the decision to specify a two-pedal transmission on a new truck,” Mr Spaltman said.

Two-pedal heaven
With the most two-pedal options available across the widest range of models on the Australian truck market, it’s safe say market leader Isuzu Trucks is well-versed in the transmission requirements for Australian road-transport businesses.

A pioneer of AMT truck technology in 2005, today Isuzu’s most advanced iteration of this transmission is in its third generation: AMT with torque converter (TC-AMT).

Representing over a decade of development and refinement, the Australian variant of the TC-AMT has been designed specifically for local conditions.

The result for the driver, regardless of experience levels, is a clever, instinctive drive, offering smooth gear changes and a car-like experience at the wheel, right from the nimble, carlicense N Series to Isuzu’s fit-for-purpose, medium-duty F Series models.

This is a particular boon in urban settings; Isuzu’s TC-AMT provides a torque multiplication factor of 1.5 times, producing a superior response from a standing start. It also offers better acceleration at lower speeds, making it ideal for drivers dealing regularly with stop-start traffic.

Other features, such as the kick-down detent on the accelerator pedal and the ‘P’ position shift lever which engages a parking pawl, have been developed specifically for the Australian market, local road situations and ease-ofuse for a varied driver workforce.

Well-targeted Allison autos
Moving to the top-end of the medium-duty F Series range, Allison automatic transmissions take centre stage.

Featured across the medium- and heavy-duty GVM range, from 260HP 12- and 14-tonne FSR/D models right through to the FYX 350-350 10×4, Isuzu recognises the premium performance Allison automatic transmissions offer for operators in tough applications.

With a proud history of engineering application-specific trucks for Australian operators, Isuzu Trucks has kept a keen eye on changing trends and industry issues.

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