A New Production Plant for the Irizar ietruck

The Irizar Group has a new 2200 m2 production plant for its 100% electric truck in the Gipuzkoa town of Lazkao, just 10 km from the main Irizar plant in Ormaiztegi.

With a production capacity of around 60 trucks a year, the new plant started running in early 2023 and it replaces the production space that until now had been part of the Irizar bus and coach plant in Ormaiztegi.

After several successful tests in a number of European cities the Irizar ie truck was officially presented at the Solutrans fair in Lyon in late 2021. The current version has several technological improvements, like the batteries, electric powertrain and other options that, among other things, make the Irizar ietruck a perfect vehicle for working in cities in a connected and silent way.

This year’s Solutrans fair will be the stage upon which the new Irizar ie truck platform will be presented, which is 20% lighter and has greater range and notable aesthetic improvements.

Irizar ie truck

The Irizar ie truck is a zero-emissions sustainable truck that was conceived by the Irizar Group to respond to the needs cities and urban centres are currently expressing, without creating atmospheric or noise pollution. It’s a truck designed for the smart cities of the future because of its excellent energy efficiency and optimal operating costs.

It was designed with manoeuvrability and load capacity in mind and it has vanguard solutions that position it as a vehicle suitable for numerous industrial uses in cities and metropolitan areas.

Because it’s zero-emissions and makes almost no noise it’s a perfect vehicle for driving in cities and urban settings. Its energy consumption is 75% lower than a conventional truck and its low noise, pollutant and CO2 emissions make it an ideal vehicle for work during the day or night, even in low-emission metropolitan areas.

Replacing a fleet of around 30,000 heavy diesel vehicles with Irizar ie trucks could amount to an annual carbon footprint reduction of nearly a million equivalent tons of CO2 and more than 9000 GWh of energy savings in Spanish cities.

Safety first

Like all Irizar vehicles, safety is essential when designing the cockpit, where ergonomics and optimising the field of vision are at the fore.

The low-floor cab and right-hand door have been developed exclusively to provide maximum safety in urban manoeuvres. It has a single 370 mm access step, guaranteeing safe passage for the driver and crew. That feature makes it the vehicle with the best access on the market.

It can accommodate a total of four people, with three folding seats for the crew. The low position of the driver’s seat and the width of the windscreens and side windows give the driver unbeatable direct panoramic vision of the road, cyclists, pedestrians and users, improving interaction with them and eliminating blind spots.

In addition to guaranteeing a direct exit to the shoulder of the road and preventing entering the roadway, the swinging right-side fast-opening pneumatic door makes it possible for workers to get through safely and quickly despite any kind of obstacle in the street. Furthermore, the door includes anti-entrapment sensors, a photocell and a sensitive edge on the leaf to avoid any kind of unintended incident when being used for faster applications.

The Irizar ie truck is also equipped with the latest active safety technology. In addition to stability control, the camera and front radar sensor can detect lane changes (LDWS). It also has emergency assisted braking (AEBS), which activates the emergency brake if the vehicle gets too close to the vehicle on front of it and the driver doesn’t react in time. Creepage functionality provides the driver with automatic start/finish assistance, both on level ground and on steep hills. That means the driver can focus on the traffic and avoid complicated manoeuvres with pedals and gearshift levers.  It can have camera rear view mirrors for optimum and clear visibility, even in the worst conditions, and obstacle, person or vehicle warning-alert systems in blind spots or lower visibility areas.

Another notable feature is the vehicle’s total connectivity with the base of operations, which means routes and driver behaviour can be planned better and there is remote access to potential alerts in real time and to all the information needed about the operation of the vehicle’s systems.