The pilot aims to reduce emissions from public transport and create jobs through locally produced biofuels.

“Sustainably produced biofuels from waste are currently the best option to rapidly reduce emissions from most of the public transport systems in African countries”, Scania states. Biofuel used as biodiesel will lower carbon emissions by up to 80%, and by even more when used as biogas.

Scania project for biodiesel in Africa

In 2017, Scania initiated a collaboration with Agence Nationale d’Appui au Développement Rural (ANADER), a public agency that supports rural development in Côte d’Ivoire, to find opportunities for producing local biofuels from cocoa and rubber, as well as other agricultural waste and animal manure, all of which are present in abundance in the country. In July 2022, ANADER, Scania and TotalEnergies, a multinational energy company, signed an agreement to develop a pilot project to produce 3,500 litres of FAME biodiesel from rubber seeds and test it for 30 days in a Scania bus operated by the local Abidjan transport company, SOTRA. 

The second phase of the project will start soon with the construction of a new bus depot and a Bus Rapid Transit corridor by Scania and its partners. The system will provide fast, reliable and comfortable public transport services to the residents of Abidjan.

“Together with our partners, we adopted a holistic and step-by-step approach to reduce the carbon footprint and air pollution from our buses,” says Nicolas Lougovoy, Head of Strategic Projects for the Africa, Middle East and Central Asia region at Scania. He adds: “Combining Bus Rapid Transit and buses powered by locally produced biofuel from waste will multiply the positive social and environmental impacts by generating local jobs, extra incomes and significantly reducing carbon footprint and air pollution”.

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The initial introduction of the new platform is made available in low-entry 4×2 buses which will be developed in close collaboration with bodybuilder partners. The one showcased in Brussels is done with Castrosua.

Scania Low Entry intercity bus platform

These buses will be available in two performance steps – a four-battery variant with an installed capacity of 416 kWh and a five-battery variant with an installed capacity of 520 kWh. In optimal conditions, this equates to a range of more than 400 km for the former, and over 500 km for the latter.

“During the development of our new battery electric bus platform, range, performance, and battery responsibility have been key areas – all crucial to achieving viable and sustainable transport systems. Combined with our latest e-mobility services and solutions, this means we will provide complete and highly competitive solutions for urban applications in all our current regions,” says Carl-Johan Lööf, Head of Product Management, People Transport Solutions at Scania. 

New Low Entry e-bus from Scania coming

The low-entry 4×2 BEV is suitable for medium and heavy-duty operations, in city, suburban, and regional applications, in both Class I and Class II. The bus comes in two different chassis widths – 2500 mm and 2550 mm – and the two different axle gears provide ratio options that work in the most challenging topography. The new electric machine (it’s unclear if it’s the one developed within Traton group or a product by Scania or external partner) “is more powerful as it comes with a newly integrated cooling system and an updated control system which meets the highest cyber security demands. The machine runs at 300 kW in peak operation and 250 kW in continuous operation”, Scania says.

High-capacity battery packs in both 4-pack (416 kWh) and 5-pack (520 kWh) configurations equate to a range of more than 400 km and 500 km respectively, in optimal conditions. The batteries have been developed and are built in partnership with Northvolt.

Multiple advanced state-of-the-art driver assistance systems (ADAS), additional safety features, and strong protection from cyber security threats provide the safest possible operation for the driver, the passengers and surrounding road users. These meet and even exceed the strict EU safety regulations for heavy commercial vehicles. 

Powered by the new electrical system and Smart Dash instrument panel, the buses come with new or improved digital functionalities – from safety functions and remote diagnostics to real-time maps and over-the-air capabilities. The future-proof Smart Dash is the ultimate interface that provides wireless updates, and full integration to other digital touchpoints. It enhances the driver experience and makes it more intuitive, while also increasing operational efficiency.

“Today 90 percent of the emissions in cities comes from out of the inner urban centers. For the long distance segment, Scania Group is showcasing a LNG-powered coach, built in cooperation with Irizar, able to run for 1,200 km on a single refill. Going to suburban areas, I’m happy to introduce Scania new battery electric bus platform, with battery capacity of 520 kWh. It’s at our stand as a intercity LE bus built in cooperation with Grupo Castrosua, one of our partners” said Johanna Salomonsson Lind, Senior Vice President Head of People Transport Solutions, Scania, during the opening ceremony of Busworld Europe on 5th October.

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13-meter long, it features independent front axle suspension, according to the very few specifications shared by the group so far.

Oddly enough, in 2021 Castrosua announced the launch of its new Nelec plastform presenting it as a busbody on Scania electric chassis.

Scania Castrosua electric bus ready for launch

Oddly enough, in 2021 Castrosua announced the launch of its new Nelec plastform presenting it as a busbody on Scania electric chassis.

It is worth mentioning that Castrosua has also been selected by BYD as bodybuilder partner for a dedicated e-bus for the Spanish market. Castrosua and Scania have often been collaborating in the past.

The Swedish manufacturer will be launching at Busworld the new battery electric bus platform by introducing a low-entry BEV chassis for class 1- and class 2 operations. In the stand, a Scania Castrosua LE 4×2 will be showcased as one of the first examples developed on the new platform.

Along with this, new charging solutions and additional e-mobility solutions will be introduced to support optimal BEV implementation and -operations, Scania states.

Also at Scania stand, visitors will be able to find a Scania Irizar i6S coach, a Scania Touring in the new 10,9-meter version and a portable Kempower charging unit.

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Furthermore, by locating the assembly plant adjacent to the chassis line in Södertälje, which was redesigned this summer for large-scale production of electric vehicles, the conditions for fast and efficient manufacturing flows are in place.

Earlier this year, Scania announced its decided to cease body production for Scania bus chassis in Poland but will continue offering complete buses and coaches thanks to partnerships with bodybuilders. Production of Scania Citywide, Scania Interlink, and Low floor-chassis will be discontinued. “Market is changing, we need to focus”, told us Scania SVP Head of Bus & Coach Johanna Lind. In the meanwhile, the Swedish group is making huge efforts in electrification of trucks: the Tranton-belonging group managed to deliver 145 zero-emission vehicles (meaning trucks and buses) in the first half of this year.

Scania battery assembly plant launched

In April, Scania and Northvolt unveiled a jointly developed battery cell designed for heavy-duty transport. The cell is produced at the gigafactory Northvolt ETT in northern Sweden and will, as from today, be assembled into packs at the new 18,000-square-meter plant in Södertälje.

“The shift to electrified solutions is the biggest transformation in the history of transport, and 2023 is the year when it truly takes off. The proof points are being launched one by one and the 1,5 billion SEK investment in this new battery assembly is one of them”, said Christian Levin, President and CEO Scania and TRATON GROUP. “I am extremely proud of all colleagues who have put their hearts and minds into this. At Scania, we have made it our purpose to drive the shift towards a sustainable transport system. With the battery assembly in operations we have one of the key enablers in place to accelerate the shift to electrification”.

“Despite a rapidly changing business landscape, our promise to always put our customers first remains. Being premium means that we deliver solutions that are both of the highest quality – and sustainable. The cell being assembled into modules and packs is a perfect example of this. It has the capacity to power trucks for 1,5 million kilometres – equivalent to the truck’s lifetime. It is a privilege to drive change together with all our partners and customers,” added Marcus Holm.

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A very similar decision was recently taken by the other Swedish brand Volvo Buses: in March the group announced plans to end production of complete buses and coaches in Europe (and also in this case a Polish plant, the one in Wroclaw, is affected).

Back to Scania, in 2022 a total of 1,142 buses were registered (fifth player on the European bus market above 8 tons), with a -28% compared to 2021 (and -35% than 2019)

In an interview we conducted during UITP Summit 2023, Scania Senior Vice President Head of Bus and Coach Johanna Salomonsson Lind (she took the position in February 2023 from Anna Carmo e Silva) discuss the reasons behind this strategic shift and the expected outcomes.

Scania made the difficult decision to discontinue the Scania Citywide, the Interlink, and the Low Floor models in order to focus and invest in areas where we are already strong. This strategic move allows us to continue investing in urban and intercity transportation solutions, working closely with our partners.

Johanna Salomonsson Lind, Senior Vice President Head of Bus and Coach, Scania Group

Scania, Johanna Salomonsson Lind and the new European bus strategy

The change in the business model announced by your group has been quite striking. May you be more specific about reasons and expected results?

Scania’s strengths lie in its modular concepts, which make our vehicles durable and reliable. We also have skilled technicians worldwide and extensive experience in running buses, ensuring timely service. Additionally, Scania’s strong partnerships enable us to offer solutions tailored to specific markets: if you look at 2022, 90% of our sales worldwide were done through partnerships. 

We see that in the past few years, the market has been changing rapidly, and the pandemic obviously hit the market strongly. Now the volumes are picking up, but in a slightly different shape, and we also see that the investments needed are increasing, also due to new legislation and technical development.

So, we started reviewing how we ensure that we maintain our competitiveness. We believe that for us to remain a key player in the market over time, we need to focus. This will also give us resources to be more adaptive and flexible to the needs and the markets, being more attentive to what’s happening.

Therefore you made the decision to end three of Scania bus products…

Scania made the difficult decision to discontinue the Scania Citywide, the Interlink, and the Low Floor models in order to focus and invest in areas where we are already strong. This strategic move allows us to continue investing in urban and intercity transportation solutions, working closely with our partners.

If you look at 2022, 90% of our sales worldwide were done through partnerships. We see that in the past few years, the market has been changing rapidly, and the pandemic obviously hit the market strongly. Now the volumes are picking up, but in a slightly different shape, and we also see that the investments needed are increasing, also due to new legislation and technical development. So, we started reviewing how we ensure that we maintain our competitiveness. We believe that for us to remain a key player in the market over time, we need to focus. This will also give us resources to be more adaptive and flexible to the needs and the markets, being more attentive to what’s happening.

Johanna Salomonsson Lind, Senior Vice President Head of Bus and Coach, Scania Group

Will Scania develop new platforms or utilize existing ones? 

Scania has a long history of platforms and will continue investing in those that have proven successful. There’s an aspect I’d like to stress…

Please…

We will continue offering what we call complete solutions, but we’ll do this in cooperation with our partners. Depending on the specific case, our level of integration can vary. In some instances, we are heavily involved in industrial integration, while in others, our focus will be more on the commercial integration. 

Scania electric bus range?

When can we expect to see Scania’s range of electric buses? 

Scania believes in offering a broad range of powertrain options to meet local requirements and ensure sustainable solutions. We are investing in various options such as hybrids. gas and electric drivelines. Scania sees the need for multiple alternatives, including electric, to adapt and lower emissions in different contexts.

We should also keep in mind that approximately 80% of CO2 emissions occur in suburban areas. To address this, we will continue our investments in various technologies.

Coach side: how will this be affected?

The products that will be discontinued have been announced. For the remaining products the strategy will not change.

How will the decision to discontinue certain products affect Scania’s business and workforce?

We really want to focus to remain a primary voice in sustainability. We needed to take this very tough decision. Concerning the production facility, we are currently producing chassis and bodyworks, and we’ll continue to be present with the first. 

What about the workforce?

The negotiations are still ongoing. The actual number of people will be defined. In local media it was reported that 847 people are concerned, however our best ambition is to reduce this number through other measures. We are investing in several supporting mechanisms right now for our employees.

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Scania was handed the presidency on 12 December, when the CEOs of the 13 multinational member companies came together at an annual meeting in Rome.

Scania, CEO Alliance, climate transition

The work of the CEO Alliance is twofold. The alliance functions as supporter and speaking partner to top decision-makers in the EU regarding an ambitious implementation of the EU’s Green New Deal and “Fit for 55” regulation. In addition, it runs joint projects within sustainability to underline the business opportunities of climate transition.  

As presiding company, Scania has the overall responsibility for operational success in the CEO Alliance. That means coordinating the 13 member companies in joint projects and in dialogue with top EU decision-makers.

This far, Scania has led a joint project within the CEO Alliance on heavy-duty vehicle charging infrastructure, while participating in other projects on energy efficiency in buildings, green bonds, connectivity and data aggregation in the transport sector, and e-buses. The now ended charging infrastructure project was a starting point for the joint venture between TRATON Group (of which Scania is part), Daimler Truck and Volvo Group with plans to install and operate at least 1,700 public charging points for commercial vehicles in Europe. 

Scania: a faster decarbonization

“As president of the CEO Alliance, I will push for an even faster decarbonisation as the base for a competitive European industry. The alliance plays a key role in the work to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of European business, and to secure the shift to a more sustainable society,” says Scania’s President and CEO Christian Levin.

“During spring 2023, Sweden, where Scania is established with headquarters and production, holds the presidency of the EU. At the same time, many key regulatory proposals for decarbonisation are on the table – the Alternative Fuel Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) being only one of them. This, in combination with the unstable situation in the world, gives Scania and the CEO Alliance a unique window of opportunity as advocates for ambitious decarbonisation,” says Jennie Cato, Head of Public Affairs and Partnerships at Scania Group, representing Scania in CEO Alliance’s so-called sherpa group. The sherpas are responsible for coordinating the day-to-day work of the Alliance and consist of one representative from each partner company. 

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Production of the fully electric Scania Citywide, Scania delegates say, has already begun. Targeted markets? First of all the Swedish and Scandinavian ones, and then an expand throughout continental and Mediterranean Europe is foreseen. What is odd, Scania is today the only big brand in the bus segment missing a share in the growing (although still nascent) electric bus market.

Scania established trial electric bus operation in Sweden in 2018, mostly in Östersund in northern Sweden, where the buses have pantograph charging. In September 2021, it has been awarded a 6-units fleet, also in the domestic market. What is more, the group has planned an investment of over 100 million euros in a battery assembly plant (plus battery laboratory) in its headquarters of Södertälje, Sweden. 

Scania Citywide fully electric. The features

Two axles, 2-2-2 door configuration, 12 metres in length, 2.55 in width and 3.27 in height, the passenger area includes 32 seats, 45 standing places and a wheelchair space. As for the (electric) heart of this bus, we find a central motor with peak of 300 kW for 210 Nm torque (continuous output: 250 kW).

Focusing on the vehicles we had the opportunity to test in Södertälje, the capacity of the (eight) battery modules is 254 kWh (the technical sheets says it can go up to 330 kWh): four are located at the rear, the others on the roof. These are NMC batteries. Such capacity suggests a focus on fast charging (an application where most of the time, however, LTO formula is suggested…).

Charging technologies? Pantograph for opportunity charging is available, together of course with CCS2 plug-in systerm. In the future it will be equipped with Northvolt battery systems.

Scania on electrification of public transport

In an interview we had in late 2020 with Anna Carmo e Silva, Senior Vice President Buses & Coaches in Scania Group, she stated: «The Covid situation has impacted all of us in the industry and it has also influenced to some extent the introduction plans of our new generation buses and coaches but we have managed to limit the impact in order to meet the expectations of our customers. So we will soon see more Scania Citywide BEV on the streets. Series production is in the starting blocks».

Ms Carmo e Silva added: «We see a continuing shift towards electrification, especially for inner city traffic. The legislation in Europe, for instance the Clean vehicle directive, is of course contributing to this development. Battery electric buses are also coming closer to buses with combustion engines when it comes to operational costs, and this will strengthen even more the demand. They are now an important part of the city bus market and this will continue to grow». Electrification, anyhow, according to Scania is not a silver bullet: «It depends both on the regions and on the applications».

On the other hand, recently the subsidiary Scania Mexico signed to the project ZEBRA (Zero Emission Bus Rapid-Deployment Accelerator), which is led by the International Council on Clean Transportation and the Climate Change Leadership Group ICCT and C-40.

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The facility is set to be ready by end of the year. The global truck and bus manufacturer has indeed invested quite a lot of money (108 million dollars) on this project, which is supposed to boost the company’s electrification strategy.

Multiple ABB robots will be involved in the assembly process, including the IRB 390, IRB 4600 and IRB 6700 models, along with additional solutions to support the production process.

Scania and ABB: a long-lasting collaboration

Indeed, Scania and ABB have worked in partnership for more than four decades and are collaborating on building production infrastructure for electric vehicles. Recently, they joined forces to create charging solutions for heavy goods vehicles that will also be powered by batteries manufactured by Northvolt. The Northvolt facility – Europe’s largest lithium-ion battery factory – has also been developed in partnership with ABB.

How the new Scania battery assembly plant will be

Tony Persson, Head of Scania’s battery assembly, said: «The factory is designed in line with Scania’s efforts to be at the forefront of industrial digitalization, automation, and the use of advanced robotic technology to streamline production processes with increased flexibility. That is where the robots and solutions from ABB fit in. For Scania, the factory is also an investment that will further strengthen Sweden’s position as a hub for cutting-edge technology in the electrification of heavy vehicles, which is crucial in the transition to sustainable transport».

«We are delighted to work with one of our longest-standing clients to help deliver their electrification roadmap», commented Joerg Reger, Managing Director of ABB Robotics’ automotive business line. «The automotive industry has always been at the forefront of automation. But with the shift to electrification, it faces wholesale changes to established manufacturing processes. With our expertise, we will design and help implement the manufacturing flexibility that is vital for market leaders such as Scania in delivering this change».

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Kempower official partner of Scania

One of the first collaborations of Scania and Kempower is the electric bus depot in Strängnäs, Sweden, announced in January, where Kempower delivers the charging infrastructure, covering Kempower C- and S-Series fast charging solutions and Kempower ChargEye Depot master. The charging infrastructure is included in a total delivery that Scania carries out to Bergkvarabuss, consisting of six vehicles. 

“We are happy to serve Scania’s and its affiliates’ electric bus and electric truck network worldwide. The collaboration with Scania is significant for Kempower in heavy vehicle industry. We are looking forward to drive the development further towards emission-free logistics and transportation”, says Tomi Ristimäki, CEO, Kempower.

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The new Scania Interlink has new chassis and body and offers fuel savings of up to 8 per cent alongside a wide range of specification options, advanced safety features, new uptime services and a significantly updated driver area, Scania says.

A few days ago Scania’s SVP Anna Carmo e Silva has been appointed head of ACEA bus and coach division.

Scania launches the new Interlink

The high flexibility in Scania Interlink offers multiple options when it comes to vehicle length and interior layout, luggage compartments, door configurations, classification, powertrains, and more.

New options include longer 2-axle buses with increased passenger capacity as well as shorter gas buses, according to the information released so far. “The wide range of low-carbon powertrains is also a part of the flexibility. We provide biodiesel (FAME), HVO, biogas, and hybrid options that significantly reduce CO2 emissions today,” says Karolina Wennerblom, Head of Product Management, Scania Buses & Coaches.

The visibility and wide turning radius adds to great drivability. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) give the driver good control of the vehicle through improved assisted handling, steering and braking. This, along with Scania Zone that ensures driver compliance with speed regulations around schools and elsewhere, increases safety and helps minimise accidents, thereby also avoiding unnecessary costs.

New Scania Interlink, with independent front suspension

Among the features of the new Scania Interlink we may mention the independent front suspension that increases ride comfort while increasing load capacity by 500 kg. The vehicle is designed to limit damage and avoid deformation of components such as steering system, aftertreatment system or batteries, critical to minimise downtime and costly repairs. Uptime is further increased via easily exchangeable front corners, improved cleanability, and not least through the vehicle´s compatibility with the proactive and real-time data based Scania Flexible Maintenance.

The new exterior has a contemporary expression with larger side windows, Bi-LED or Bi-Halogen headlights and new sidelights and rear lights. The electric sliding doors result in higher uptime and lower maintenance cost, and indoors, new materials reduce noise. The climate system minimises energy consumption, regardless of climate. This, along with the new and brighter interior, helps to increase passenger appeal. “The new Scania Interlink is sure to appeal to operators with high demands. That it is a sustainable option only adds to the experience,” Wennerblom concludes.

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