MAN Truck and Bus South Africa has undertaken a seven-city tour of
4 200 kilometres which aims to show how trucks can save three litres per
100 kilometres, or R60 000 per year.
The Witness met Bruce Dickson, the deputy CEO of MAN
Truck & Bus SA, in Pinetown on Monday.
Dickson said the tour aims to prove that fuel-efficient trucks can
lower vehicle life-cycle costs and reduce their carbon footprint, to provide
tangible business advantages.
“We are confident that the TGS 26,440 BLS EfficientLine truck on
the tour will achieve a three-litre per 100 km fuel saving, which offers a
R60 000 annual saving per truck. This can be expressed as ‘one free truck for
every 35 bought’, a value proposition unprecedented in the industry,” said
Dickson.
He said the Consistently Efficient Tour 2011 will also demonstrate
that for every litre of fuel saved, a corresponding 2,63 kg reduction in carbon
emissions (CO2) is achieved.
He said the EfficientLine’s remarkable fuel-efficiency is achieved
via the fitment of an aerodynamic package to reduce the aerodynamic drag
effects. This includes energy-saving tyres to reduce resistance, improved
management of auxiliary power demand from selected components via an
air-pressure management unit which automatically cuts out the compressor when it
is not in use, lightweight aluminium rims as well as lighter front axles and
suspension to reduce vehicle deadweight.
EfficientLine trucks are also electronically governed to a maximum
speed of 85 km/h to minimise the exponential influence of speed to power
required to overcome wind resistance,” Dickson said.
He added that if local fleet operators hope to remain competitive,
they have to reduce their carbon footprints in line with international
supply-chains.
