While the record 54,790 people who attended the 2025 Brisbane Truck Show had a front row seat to all the energy and excitement, the premier experience was had by the lucky 120 who joined one of the seven ‘Tech Tours’ I ran across the Thursday, Friday and Saturday of the show.
The ‘Tech Tours’ are a 90-minute guided walking tour of a diverse range of technical highlights from exhibitors on the main floor. This year I included 14 separate stops to provide a first-hand look at new technologies loosely grouped into four main themes – decarbonisation, on-road safety, new trailer technology, and Australian manufacturing quality and ingenuity.
As always, there was far too much to cover in this short article, and the show itself was far larger than we could accommodate in a brief walking tour. It really must be seen to be believed, and best experienced in the flesh. If you didn’t make it in 2025, put BTS27 in your calendar now, and subscribe to Talk the Torque for future Tech Tour announcements!
But for now, let’s dive in and see what the BTS25 ‘Tech Tours’ were all about.
Watt works best?
Few attendees could have missed the bold design of the brand new XCIENT fuel cell truck debuted for the first time to the Australian market from Hyundai Motor Company Australia (HMCA).
Backed by more than seven million real-world kilometres, the zero tailpipe emissions truck has a range of up to 400km and refuels in less than 20 minutes, as explained by Scott Nargar, Hyundai Senior Manager of Future Mobility.
It is the world’s first mass-produced, heavy-duty hydrogen powered truck and sends a strong signal to the market that HMCA predicts that fuel cell technology will continue to play a part in trucking decarbonisation around the globe.
For the first time, the ‘Tech Tours’ made their way into the concourse area to visit powered axle and powered trailer pioneers Vibe Energy Motion. Director Dean Panos explained the extensive local development work in designing and integrating a powered axle into their existing trailer designs, and its overall goal of creating a modular system that can readily adapted into a range of trailer applications. An exciting step for powered trailers!
Above: Dana Australia, Cummins Asia Pacific and Hyundai Motor Company Australia showcasing their latest innovations
Back into the main floor of the show saw the tours visit two equipment providers both moving boldly into new decarbonisation frontiers, but with different approaches.
James Foott and Raj Ranganathan from Cummins Asia Pacific took us through the ins and outs of their new ‘fuel agnostic’ internal combustion engine platforms.
Referred to as ‘HELM’, standing for ‘Higher Efficiency, Lower Emissions, Multiple Fuels’, it is a common-platform engine that can be configured with different fuel intake systems to be used in conventional diesel, natural gas and gaseous hydrogen operations. It is a great example of how global manufacturers are providing for differing paths to achieving net zero.
The group extended the ‘flexible decarbonisation’ pathways even further with a visit to the Dana Australia stand, where Engineering Manager Matthew James showcased its latest electrified driveline offerings hitting the road in the next 12 months.
These include the Zero-6 e-Transmission providing an integrated inverter, motor and three-speed gearbox outputting up to 500hp and 8,000Nm of torque; as well as the Zero-8 e-axle providing an axle mounted integrated inverter, motor and three-speed gearbox, supporting a wide variety of vehicle architecture options and outputting over 1,000hp and 130,000 Nm in tandem configuration. If used as a single axle in a tandem drive configuration, it could offer a means for flexible, transitional decarbonisation, effectively allowing a truck to take advantage of two driveline technologies simultaneously.
Tech it or leave it
After those stops, we steered away slightly from decarbonisation but stayed just as technical! We made our way to the Volvo Group stand where we got a detailed run-down of the new D17 engine from Product Manager Aaron Lewis.
Offering up to 780hp and 3,800Nm, it is the most powerful engine Volvo Trucks has ever made, yet it complies with the latest Euro VI engine emissions regulations and can be run on new Low-Carbon Liquid Fuels (LCLFs) such as Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) and a 100 per cent biodiesel blend (B100).
Above: The latest technology on show from Knorr-Bremse Australia, Volvo Group Australia and Freighter Group
The group then moved back into the trailer space, and had a detailed explanation of new trailer telematics systems from Jan Fiedler at market-leader Freighter Group. Jan covered the capabilities of the ‘TrailerConnect’, which provides real-time trailer refrigeration unit status, and also running gear, EBS system status, brakes, tyres and even a remote locking system that can prevent a trailer from being moved!
Conveniently located directly opposite Freighter was Knorr-Bremse Australia – Commercial Vehicle Systems, and the tour had a further look into smart trailer systems via Knorr’s advances in trailer braking.
Rachel Michaud explained the features of Knorr’s latest trailer Electronic Brake Systems (TEBS) and highlighted the importance of reducing delays in brake signal timing, and how Knorr’s technology can ensure optimum brake performance for Australia’s long combinations and road trains.
Safety in focus
The focus on safety kicked off with a visit to a stand that attendees could have otherwise walked by and been none the wiser to the importance of the products on display. The prevalence of wheel-end failures in Australia, and their unfortunate contribution to safety statistics through fires was highlighted by recent research from leading transport insurer NTI.
Chris Lawler from STEMCO Australia gave a hands-on demonstration of its newly-released ‘Auto-Torque’ axle fastening system, a mechanical device that eliminates user error in installing wheel hub bearings, and is set to revolutionise running gear servicing, reduce the instance of wheel-end failures, and dramatically improve safety.
Another product set to deliver safety gains are the MAHA Australia/New Zealand mobile column lifts, powered by high-capacity on-board rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. The mobile column lifts offer an alternative to heavy vehicle service operations where pits are not available, or are otherwise impractical, explained Managing Director Mick Lauster.
The use of column lifts also completely eliminates the hazards of working in and around service pits in workshops, which was the subject of a HVIA ‘Best Practice’ guide released last year.
Above: The Drake Group, Stemco Australia and MAHA Australia revealing their latest product releases
We moved from mechanical systems to software systems on the safety journey as the group entered the Daimler Truck Australia Pacific stand and heard about the ‘Detroit Assurance’ platform, which offers a new suite of sensor and telematics based safety systems fitted to new Freightliner Cascadia models.
Eight driver assistance systems are being offered, including active brake assist for vulnerable road users such as pedestrians, and adaptive cruise control. Tour attendees saw first-hand how the Detroit Connect system captures safety events on video, supplemented with telematics data, and downloadable through the cloud.
Australian made, world-grade
The number of world-leading Australian innovations on display at the show cannot be overstated, particularly in the trailer and body sector, and with over 34 brands represented in 2025, there are far too many to list here.
But two displays caught the eyes of ‘Tech Tour’ attendees in particular! The first was the spectacular Container Handling Tipper Trailer, developed in collaboration with VAKO.
New to the Australian market and highly innovative, it seamlessly integrates tipping and container handling, cutting loading times and improving efficiency and productivity.
The second was of course the Drake Trailers stand, with its two rows of triple-stacked low loaders and heavy haulage trailers of varying designs, either side of a show-stopping centrepiece – a lightweight triaxle skeletal trailer sitting on its end, on a rotating platform!
Director Sam Drake spoke briefly about the idea behind the display, but I was sure to draw attention to the incredible engineering design and ingenuity that goes into every Drake design, incorporating complex mechanisms such as extension, deck widening and chassis widening, all manufactured right here in Australia.
Watch Video: BTS25 Tech Tours Prove A Big Hit!