Capital Equipment News July 2019

TRUCK RENTAL

Therefore, the Scania Rental solution provides our customer with the best Total Operating Economy,” says Le Roux. Le Roux also notes that even some of the established transport operators are diversifying their fleets from ownership of the asset to the right of use of the asset. In that regard, a sizeable portion of Scania Rental’s fleet also operates in long haul, including cross border. “Tailored rental terms in our rental contracts can allow fleet operators to increase capacity for seasonal work or short-term contracts, and reduce it when demand decreases, giving them the flexibility they need,” says Le Roux. Quality product With rapid changes in technology today, vehicles become obsolete more quickly. With renting, trade cycles are shorter, and fleet operators can upgrade to new technology sooner than if they owned the vehicles. Scania Rental keeps its fleet up to date with three-year replacement cycles. Bear in mind that every unit introduced to the rental fleet is straight out of the production line. Speaking about new truck technology, Scania Rental customers will be glad to know that the New Truck Generation (NTG) now forms part of the fleet following its local launch in May this year. “Due to our three-year replacement cycle, we anticipate that 20% of our fleet will convert to the NTG range by the close of 2019. Since the launch of the new range we have already delivered 20 of the units to customers,” says Le Roux. In terms of configuration, Scania Rental has introduced the new G460 spec for long haul – and up to 5% improvement in fuel efficiency compared with the previous range is a major incentive for customers already operating in difficult economic conditions. For the commodity market, Scania Rental will add the XT vehicle, a robust unit that will further ensure better Total Operating Economy for the customer. Since its official launch in the local market, the Scania NTG range has attracted a lot of interest. It represents the largest ever investment in Scania’s 125-year history, designed with a major focus on giving customers the tools that they need to achieve profitability in their businesses. The result of 10 years of development work and investments of over €2-billion, the new truck generation builds on the values, strategies and innovations, which for the past 125 years, have made Scania an industry leader. “Due to the positive response to the NTG range and enquiries already received, we anticipate that our market share in the heavy duty truck rental market will dramatically increase,” concludes Le Roux. b

Following the launch of the new NTG range, Scania Rental has introduced the new XT to its fleet, which is mainly targeted to the commodity market.

Included in the Scania Rental offering is its total Scania turnkey solution, with a full bumper-to- bumper repair and maintenance contract.

taking preference. Scania also has its own enterprise development strategy, which helps emerging contractors through tailored pricing, packages and recommendations, but subject to minimum qualifying criteria. “Rental makes sense for most emerging transport operators. Purchasing a new truck comes with huge upfront costs for them, which they can’t afford as start-ups. Renting from Scania Rental also eliminates maintenance and repair costs. Full-service rental that includes maintenance can benefit fleet operators that don’t have their own mechanics or workshops. All they have to worry about is their driver and the fuel,” says Brown. “Since inception of the Rental Solution, a high percentage of initial emerging transport operator customers have also converted into Scania truck owners due to the positive experience from the Rental department,” says Le Roux. “Included in the Scania Rental offering

is our total Scania turnkey solution, with a full bumper-to-bumper repair and maintenance contract. This is complemented by full access to our dealer network and a 24/7/365 breakdown service assistance, which applies both locally and across our borders,” adds Le Roux. Another major driver, according to Le Roux, is the changing size and duration of contracts. Unlike in the past where transport contractors were accustomed to long-term contracts, most of the available contracts are about 12-24 months at most. Scania’s short-term rental facility offers greater flexibility for transport operators who execute these contracts. Scania offers rental contracts of anything from one month to 12 months, along with the agreed mileage. “We believe in knowing our customer’s customer. With the current economic uncertainty, our customers’ customer is not committing to long-term contracts.

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