TRUCKMAKERS NEWS * Sweden - Volvo FE Hybrid Truck Undergoes Crash Test

The Volvo FE Hybrid truck is thus now safe and ready for market launch


Gothenborg,Sweden -AutoEvolution, by Alina Dumitrache -25 May 2011: -- Swedish manufacturer Volvo Trucks is currently getting ready to release its new GE Hybrid truck onto the market, so naturally the vehicle had to first pass a rigorous crash test regime. The engineers had to face new challenges as the battery pack is fitted at the side of the vehicle, unlike conventional-powered trucks. This was the first time that Volvo carried out a crash test on a hybrid truck...  The hybrid model was tested by simulating a collision in which a car hits the side of the battery pack at a speed of 46 km/h (29 mph)... The battery pack weighs 578 kilograms and the battery itself weighs 232 kg (511 lbs) . The electrical system operates on 600 Volts... After the 1600 kg (3,527 lbs) car sled hit the battery pack, the assembled engineers saw that the installation met all expectations. The built-in safety system shut off all activity in the battery pack...  The test demonstrated two main things: that the battery pack withstands a collision without causing a fire, and that the car driver is not injured by the battery pack...

* Sweden - Truck Maker Volvo Slashes Carbon Emissions

Gothenburg,Sweden -The Journal of Commerce Online, by Bruce Barnard -May 27, 2011: -- Volvo said it cut its carbon footprint delivering goods and products around Europe by 22 percent between 2006 and 2010. And the Swedish truck manufacturer said it aims to reduce emissions, measured by the average number of grams of carbon dioxide per ton per kilometer, by 30 percent by 2015... Volvo Logistics, Volvo’s transport arm, said the lower CO2 emissions was driven by several factors, including training truck drivers, employing more efficient rigs and optimizing the use of ships and freight trains... The reduction includes transportation for Volvo Car, as well as Volvo’s truck, bus, construction equipment and marine engine businesses...   (Photo from yeeeeee: Volvo FH 16)

* France - Renault tractor unit demonstrator proves attractive on fuel

Lyon,Saint Priest,France -Transport Engineer, by John Challen -24 May 2011: -- When Renault Truck Commercials launched a demonstration programme last December, with its Union Jack and Welsh flag-branded Premium Long Distance tractor units, one operator returned 11.13mpg over a week's driving...   Fuel efficiency was one of the key measurements and the combined results showed an average of 9.58mpg, which has left Christophe Blazere, managing director of Renault Truck Commercials, very happy...  "We sold over 50 Premiums as a result of this programme, and most of them are conquests for Renault Trucks, such as JJ Bartletts and Sons and Ralph Coleman," asserts Blazere...

* Russia: Fuso KamAZ JV marks production milestone

Naberezhnye Chelny,Russia -AutomotiveWorld -May 25, 2011: -- Fuso KamAZ Truck Rus recently marked production of its 1,000th Mitsubishi Fuso truck. The company, an equal-parts joint venture between KamAZ and Mitsubishi Fuso’s parent Daimler, was set up in late 2009. It began making trucks at its Naberezhnye Chelny plant in May 2010. It assembles the 7.5-ton Canter light-duty truck from semi-knocked-down kits shipped from Japan... The distribution network for Mitsubishi Fuso trucks in Russia has been growing and now numbers more than 50 locations. Mitsubishi Fuso currently ranks number two among its Japanese competitors in its segments in Russia...


* Iraq: Scania signs deal to deliver 4,000 CVs
 

Baghdad,Iraq -AutomotiveWorld -May 24, 2011:  --  Swedish commercial vehicles manufacturer Scania has entered into a cooperation agreement with Iraq's Ministry of Industry and Minerals, whereby the OEM will deliver 4,000 vehicles worth SEK 3bn (US$472.6m) during a five-year period...  Scania will execute this agreement together with its partner in Iraq, Qanadeel al Rafidain. The vehicles will be assembled at the government's Iskandariyah industrial complex, south of Baghdad. The agreement also calls for Scania to deliver industrial know-how, tools and training during the five-year period...  Scania regained a production and sales presence in Iraq a year ago... (Image from t3.gstatic: The Most Cool Scania truck )