Capital Equipment News June 2022

COVER STORY

decrease by 50% compared to 2015 and the footprint of our vehicles on the road by 20%. “My goal is to lead this transition to sustainable energy use in southern Africa,” says Bergvall. The company has come a long way in terms of the development of electric trucks, but Bergvall predicts that trucks driving in Africa will have to provide for both diesel and electric options for some time to come, due to the distances to be covered and unreliable power supply. He says that, at Scania, there is no separate strategy for sustainability. Instead, sustainability is at the core of the company’s business strategy aiming to align its targets and activities with sustainable development. “Our overarching purpose is to drive the shift towards a sustainable transport system. To achieve this goal, we must do the right things in terms of solutions for sustainable transport, but also do things in the right way and act as a responsible business – environmentally, socially and ethically.” Bergvall says Scania measures and follows up on its sustainability performance in relation to set targets. “To track our performance, we have developed 18 sustainability indicators linked to our most material areas with connection to impact, risk and the life cycle of our products.” During 2020, Scania set science-based targets related to decarbonisation. These science-based targets are part of the

monthly maintenance costs. “It is our responsibility to push things in the direction of higher emissions standards,” says Bergvall in reference to Scania’s plug-in hybrid vehicles and electric trucks which have received positive reactions in Europe. The company expects electrified vehicles to account for around 10% of its total vehicle sales volumes in Europe by 2025 and 50% by 2030. In terms of introducing electrified trucks in South Africa, Bergvall alludes to some “exciting news” to be shared by Scania in the near future. “Increasing the use of renewable fuels and sales of electrified vehicles will play a key role in achieving our science-based targets,” says Bergvall. “In order to decrease the use of fossil fuels, renewable fuels must become more available. Scania offers the broadest range of renewable or alternative fuel solutions on the market.” He says all Scania diesel vehicles can be fuelled with HVO biodiesel, without any modifications or limitations. “Electrification of the transport sector is growing fast. Scania’s electric solutions include hybrid buses and trucks as well as battery-powered electric trucks and buses,” says Bergvall, adding that this portfolio is set to grow in the coming years and so add to the company’s environmental sustainability. He lists smart technologies and flexible finance schemes as further customer

company’s corporate targets, and will impact on investment decisions across its business areas, from production and logistics to product development and sales priorities. “More than 90% of the carbon emissions from our business is generated when products are in use. Our ambition is to measure the emissions from fuel consumption during the use of our products, considering the emissions generated in the production of the fuel or electricity,” says Bergvall. He says his focus as the MD of Scania Southern Africa is to offer innovations that increase customer profitability and operating efficiencies. The major focus is on vehicles with better fuel efficiency and emission standards, says Bergvall, who, during his tenure as MD of Scania Middle East, delivered strong growth in both vehicle sales and after sales while introducing several new sustainable transport solutions to the Gulf region. Fuel efficiency is one of the main selling points of Scania’s new truck generation, thanks to improved aerodynamics and powertrain updates. Vehicle data recorded from multiple Scania trucks in daily operation yielded an average 10% fuel saving across the new generation truck range that was launched in South Africa in 2019, a saving that potentially offsets Customer profitability, operating efficiencies

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS JUNE2022