The much anticipated arrival in Australian of Scania’s new generation heavy duty truck will take place in the second half of 2018 the company announced this week.
The company revealed that there will be a preview launch in March next year which will be a precursor to the truck range going on sale in the second half. The time frame for the launch of the new truck has been the focus of much speculation given the truck was launched to the world in late 2016. Unlike Daimler which took almost five years to bring the new gen Actros to Australia, Scania has moved relatively quickly to get the new truck on local roads in just under two years.
There has been quite a deal of testing underway which has been witnessed by the release of a range of ‘spy’ shots of the new truck on Aussie roads.
“We are delighted to announce that the 2017 International Truck of the Year, the New Truck Generation Scania, will begin to arrive in Australia during 2018,” said Scania Australia’s newly appointed director of sales, Martin Toomey.
“The New Truck Generation has been much anticipated in Australia following its international launch in the third quarter of 2016 in Europe, and subsequent success in sales, as well as garnering many positive reviews and successful comparisons with direct rivals, and of course being awarded International Truck of the Year for 2017,” he said.
“The new vehicles feature an all new cab, significantly revised engines and gearboxes, as well as improved aerodynamics all of which add up to a 5% reduction in fuel use, providing operators with significant reductions in running costs, especially in long haul applications.
“We have been evaluating a number of the 6-cylinder and V8 models in Australia this year, and they have exceeded our expectations in every way,” Martin said.
“These vehicles are now on-test with selected operators, undertaking real-world driving duties in a range of applications across the country,” he said.
Globally, Scania claims the pre-production test vehicles have covered more than 12.5 million km in all terrain and all climatic conditions prior to the European launch, coping with the frozen Artic Circle in the depths of the northern winter and the blistering dry heat of the mountains of southern Spain.
“The New Truck Generation arrives as Scania’s market momentum is reaching an all-time high, with record numbers of deliveries of the existing P, G and R-series trucks here, as operators are drawn by Scania’s incredible reliability, durability, operating economy and of course, driver comfort and safety.
“As the need to retain quality drivers becomes ever-more pressing, both the existing range and New Truck Generation Scania will help operators hold on to their best drivers, and also attract the cream of the crop,” Martin said.
Further details regarding the timing of the launch and start of deliveries will be announced in due course, along with local specifications.
