Scania, it would seem if the results of a prestigious German test are to be believed. This is now the fifth year running that Scania has won Germany’s ‘Green Truck’ title.
The press test competition is organised by two German truck trade magazines and over the years has become something of a world championship in transport efficiency for long-distance trucks.
“The words that come to me are: ‘total success’ and ‘customer value’,” says Stefan Dorski, Senior Vice President and Head of Scania Trucks, in reaction to the news of the company’s latest ‘Green Truck’ triumph.
“Winning this test five years in a row is a feat that should not be possible, yet we’ve still done it. I see it as the ultimate proof of how Scania’s powertrain technology supports our customers in their constant efforts to reach the best total operating economy”.
The Competition
‘Green Truck’ is organised by the German trade magazines “Trucker” and “Verkehrs-Rundschau”, and the 2021 test was no less strenuous than those of previous years. The organisers stipulated a gross train weight of 32 tonnes and up to 430 hp for the trucks that took on the 360 km test track north of Munich. This year Scania entered an R 410 tractor that managed to score a test result that left the rest of the field behind: the truck’s average consumption was measured at 23.53 litres per 100 km, while Scania also managed the highest average speed, reaching 80.60 km/h. That’s no small feat when parts of the test track are rather challenging, with steep hills.
The testing is rigorously monitored and takes place on public roads with a mix between highways and rural roads. Conditions that can influence the results, such as traffic and weather, are compensated for by the use of a reference truck. All the trucks have the same brand of tyres, with the same wear and pressure.
The Scania Reaction
“Being able to offer the most efficient trucks is not only part of Scania’s DNA and something we always strive for; it is also extremely important for fighting climate change and reaching our ambitious science-based targets,” says Dorski. “Although electrification is on its way, we need the most efficient combustion engines to reach the Paris Agreement targets, something which Scania is committed to.”
Scania considers press tests to be a highly significant factor in its development process. It is also of huge importance for potential truck buyers, since press tests and the evaluations that independent journalists do are actually the most relevant consumer information available on the market.
“Some people might think that press test trucks are ‘prepared’ or somehow produced on purpose; they are not,” explains Dorski. “They are regular production trucks, just like the ones our customers can order. They are admittedly well kept and well maintained, but I recommend that all truck owners do so. The really great thing about ‘Green Truck’ and other press tests is that these winners from Scania are the same breed of trucks that our customers use in their daily operations.”