Environmental concerns were at the forefront of Daf's presence at the CV Show thius year. In particular, there were 7.5-tonne and eight-wheeler chassis featuring EEV, an additional particulate filter. Informally referred to as Euro-5.5, the EEV concept, which reduces particulates by 50% over Euro-5, was conceived to work with gas-fuelled engines at Euro-2.
Daf has chosen the eight-wheeler to showcase EEV as the vehicle best suited
to work on Olympic construction contracts within the London LEZ. The EEV particulate trap is also easier to fit to a rigid chassis than a 6x2 tractor and on an 8x4 chassis effectively resembles a double-width upright exhaust.
At 7.5 tonnes, the Daf 160hp SCR engines can meet EEV standards without a specific particulate filter and, consequently, there is no price premium. For larger chassis, EEV adds around £4,000 to the cost - a reason why many operators would like to see such benchmarks made a statutory requirement to create a 'level playing field' for competition.
In addition to EEV, Daf is also developing dual-fuel vehicles, and currently has seven diesel-electric hybrids on trial withReed Business Information Limited.©2009
