Goods Vehicles (Lorries / Trucks)

Goods vehicles, commonly referred to as lorries or trucks, are commercial vehicles designed and equipped primarily for cargo haulage, with select models engineered to tow trailers. As the backbone of the commercial vehicle segment, goods vehicles focus on payload delivery across logistics, construction, and urban distribution, serving as essential workhorses for national economic operations.

Basic Definition and Terminology

In official regulatory standards, these vehicles are designated as goods vehicles, falling under the broader commercial vehicle sector. In everyday industry usage, "goods vehicle" (huoche) and "truck/lorry" (kache) are used interchangeably, with the Chinese term "kache" originating as a phonetic loanword from the English word "car". Under standard GB/T 3730.1 classifications, goods vehicles are categorised into general cargo lorries, multi-purpose commercial vehicles, full-trailer prime movers, off-road trucks, special-purpose vehicles, and dedicated haulage lorries, among others.

Key Classifications

Goods vehicles can be classified across several dimensions:

Classification by Gross Vehicle Weight (GVW) is standard industry practice. Taking 3,500 kg GVW as the benchmark, vehicles exceeding this threshold are categorised as heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), while those under are light goods vehicles (LGVs). A more granular breakdown divides them into four distinct tiers: micro, light, medium, and heavy commercial vehicles.

Classification by body configuration includes standard dropside lorries, box lorries (enclosed cargo body separate from the cab), panel vans (cargo compartment integrated with the cab), tanker lorries, flatbed lorries, container hauliers, tipper lorries, and specialised-body commercial vehicles.

Classification by vehicle combination covers rigid lorries (cab and cargo body fixed onto a single chassis), articulated/semi-trailer combinations (prime mover with a detachable semi-trailer), and drawbar combinations (rigid lorry coupled to a full drawbar trailer).

Common Vehicle Types and Applications

Box lorries (often called "closed-body lorries" or box vans) are widely used in urban last-mile distribution, offering a fully enclosed cargo area to protect goods from weather exposure, with GVW ratings ranging from 5.5 tonnes to 46 tonnes.

Tipper lorries (commonly known in the trade as dump trucks or sand tippers) are designed to transport bulk materials such as sand, gravel, construction debris, and quarry aggregate, fitted with hydraulic tipping systems for automatic discharge.

Concrete mixer lorries are purpose-built to haul ready-mixed concrete, equipped with an active revolving drum to prevent the concrete mixture from setting during transit.

Container hauliers consist of a prime mover and a skeletal trailer chassis to transport standard shipping containers, typically configured for operating weights such as 35 tonnes (for 20-foot containers) and 43 tonnes (for 40-foot containers).

Flatbed lorries are built for loading and hauling heavy, oversized, or machinery cargo, featuring an open, flat loading deck without fixed side panels.

Vehicle Architecture and Powertrains

A goods vehicle comprises four primary assemblies: the powertrain/engine, chassis, body/cab, and electrical architecture. The vast majority of commercial lorries rely on heavy-duty diesel engines for propulsion, though select light commercial vehicles run on petrol, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or natural gas (NGV). Amid the ongoing energy transition, electric commercial trucks (EVs) and hybrid lorries are gaining significant momentum.