Scania has claimed Germany’s prestigious ‘Green Truck’ title for the fifth year in a row, again scooping up the award which is organised by two leading German trade magazines.
The award which has become what some claim to be a world championship in transport efficiency for long-distance trucks is coveted in Europe and in recent times has been dominated by the Swedish truck maker.
Stefan Dorski, senior vice president and head of Scania Trucks, said that winning the award for the past five years in a row is a feat that should not be possible, but that the company had 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,” Dorski said.
‘Green Truck’ is organised by the German trade magazines “Trucker” and “Verkehrs-Rundschau”, and the 2021 test was again another strenuous test with the organisers stipulating a gross vehicle 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 prime mover 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 or 4.24 km/litre, while Scania also managed the highest average speed at 80.60 km/h despite parts of the test route being challenging with many steep hills.
The testing is apparently rigorously monitored and takes place on public roads with a mix of 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 use the same brand of tyres, with the same wear and pressure settings.
“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,” said Dorski.
“Although electrification is on its way, we need the most efficient combustion engines to reach the Paris Agreement targets, something 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,” explained 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.”
