22 “We also wanted to create a system that could easily flex between Class 6, Class 7 and Class 8 use-cases with minimal hardware changes and, more importantly, minimal changes to the software, controls and diagnostics. By delivering that, we felt it had the potential to offer significant non-recurring engineering savings for our customers.” The truck market was new to BAE Systems, but having already developed a similar product for transit, they had the backing of success. “We had the credibility because we’re coming in from an adjacent market. A bus and a truck are still radically different, but fundamentally they’re both heavy-duty vehicles with high durability, reliability and mileage.” Repackaging the system To adapt the modular transit-based system to suit the truck environment, the team first had to determine the most suitable packaging solution. After evaluating the market for electrification, they determined that delivery, P&D and local vehicles had greater potential than long-distance haulage – so, they opted to focus on a Class 6/7 vehicle. They purchased a Freightliner M2 from a company called Mystic Paving – which led to the vehicle’s codename: Mysty – and began to look at the onboard ancillary systems with a view to creating a clean retro-fit design. “Our perspective was that every electrified vehicle can be developed as a two-box solution,” explains Matthews. “Everybody else has got distributed systems of boxes running to other boxes all over the place, with all the associated connectors and hoses and cables. We thought that could be made a lot less complex and more flexible and that was our pitch; to simplify it all. So, we looked at the space and tried to reuse everything that was already allocated. “When we removed the different components from the truck, we were left with all sorts of sizes of spaces. If there was a space that had something plugged in to work with the dieselbased system, we looked at whether we could put ours in that same space, so we didn’t create a new box – and we wound up with a lot more space than we expected!” Matthews has seen a growing trend towards the use of an ‘accessory cube’ in vehicle electrification. This involves the development of a single preassembled unit containing all accessory components in one large block, which then drops directly into the space left once the original engine is removed. BAE Systems decided to take the opposite approach, and Matthews explains: “People tend to use an accessory cube because when you look at it from an assembly perspective, it’s a dream. Instead of having to mount all the different elements separately, you can drop in one pre-assembled unit, make a couple connections and off you go. “Our argument is that if you do that, you’re taking components that are naturally load-specific out of their most suitable location. Power steering, air conditioning, cooling – they all have their locations and purposes and you’re pulling them out of those locations, putting them in an artificial location, then having to create a housing to hold all the bits. “That can create a lot of additional weight and complexity – the cage alone weighs hundreds of pounds and every hose, bracket and wire adds more – and from a service perspective, it’s a nightmare because if you need to change one of the components that sits right in the middle, it can take hours to get it apart. “Instead, we took the power steering and put it right where the power steering is – it moved literally 12 inches from where it was on the engine to where it is on the chassis. We took the air conditioning, moved it over and put it on the frame rail on one side, then tied it into all the existing hardware, so there’s just one extra hose that we had to change. “The cooling system, the pumps and everything is in a single loop that sits right underneath the radiator because that’s where the radiator is, so saving all the plumbing. So, when it comes to servicing, everything is easily accessible – and when you lift the hood and look inside, there’s so much space there you see right through to the ground!” Dossier | BAE Systems Class 7 truck demo January/February 2026 | E-Mobility Engineering With the engine block removed from a traditional truck, BAE Systems’ efficient packaging solution simply leaves an empty space
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