To meet the increased demand in the urban and regional logistics market, UD Trucks Southern Africa has launched two new additions to its Croner range. UD Trucks’ Croner range originally served only in the Heavy Commercial Vehicle (HCV) segment since its introduction in 2017. The new Croner truck-tractor will be rated as an Extra Heavy Commercial Vehicle through UD Trucks’ expansion programme, operating in the lightweight truck-tractor category of up to 350hp. In the HCV market, the latest LKE 15-tonne freight carrier will run in the 8-tonne payload segment.
With the launch of the latest model, the payload, fuel efficiency and the inclusion of more driver comfort are increased and service intervals are extended. Fleet owners are supported no matter where they operate, with UD Trucks Telematics Services as standard and a region-wide dealer network.
The freight carrier Croner LKE 210 has a GH5, a 5-litre engine and an automatic transmission from the Allison 2500 series. This means that the truck can easily get to the 60 km/h mark in city operations or to the 80 km/h where the law requires, with 850 Nm of torque along with a decent transmission ratio. The LKE 210 has a low tare mass for both volume and mass payloads and an optimized wheelbase of 5 500mm. The Allison automatic transmissions often make the job easier for drivers who spend their days in urban areas, facing long hours of traffic with frequent stops and drops in cargo.
With a GH8, 8-liter engine and an Allison 3000 automatic transmission series, the Croner 4×2 PKE 280 truck-tractor has a similar emphasis on urban and city-to-city delivery, as well as a focus on inter-regional transportation. A Croner 6×2 PDE280 freight carrier was also launched by UD Trucks in 2020, taking the number of variants in this series to 16 models. UD Trucks’ Croner range is assembled at its plant in Rosslyn, Gauteng, according to the company’s global quality standards.
