Another 600 Scania trucks for Tesco in UK

Another 600 Scania trucks for Tesco in UK Leading UK supermarket chain, Tesco, has reaffirmed its confidence in Scania products with a major order for a further 400 trucks this year and an esti- mated 200 the following year. They will be used on Tesco's store distribution, as well as fuel distribution operations. "Three factors were of particularly high priority for us," comments Tesco Dis- tribution Limited's Head of Engineering, Nigel Baranowski. "Namely, fuel con- sumption, vehicle price (purchase price and residual value) and repair and maintenance costs. "Scania is well-proven within our fleet in terms of operational reliability and we are now satisfied that the marque has once again demonstrated it is up to the task in the most efficient and economic manner possible. These trucks will now have a five-year working life with us, during which time each will cover around 160,000 km per annum." The latest order is the result of extensive trials conducted by Tesco Distri- bution Limited. An eight-week evaluation between eight different vehicles was arranged by Tesco, from which two Scania models came first and second respec- tively in terms of fuel consumption. The trucks are tractor units for local and regional distribution with Scania 9- and 12-litre engines. "We are naturally delighted to have again won such a major order from Tesco," said Ulf Bundell, Managing Director of Scania (Great Britain) Limited. "Tesco first purchased Scania trucks back in 1992 when the company placed its initial order for 28 units. Since then, we have worked hard to strengthen the partner- ship and demonstrate the whole-life benefits that can be achieved with our products." The Tesco heavy truck fleet comprises more than 1,200 vehicles, the vast ma- jority Scania. During the past five years the company has bought some 1,100 Scania trucks. Since two years, Scania has been the market leader on the UK heavy truck mar- ket. In 1998, a total of 5,700 Scania trucks were registered. All trucks in this latest order have been specified with Continuously Regener- ating Traps (CRT). CRTs offer a considerable environmental benefit through re- duced particulate emissions and qualifies Tesco for a £1,000 per annum reduc- tion in Vehicle Excise Duty. The majority of Scania's UK distributor network will be involved in the supply of the trucks, which will run on Tesco Distribution Limited's nation-wide dis- tribution and trunking operations. A major part of the commitment from Scania is to jointly use a computer system to share information with Tesco and help drive down operational costs. An additional feature of the package offered by Scania involves training Tesco's own technicians at Scania's Technical Training Centre in Coalville, Leicestershire, with a programme especially tailored to meet the company's needs. Photo, see "Media services" on Scania's homepage www.scania.com For further information, please contact: Hans-Åke Danielsson, Corporate Communications, tel. +46-8 55385662, mobile phone +46-70 3468811 or e-mail hans-ake.danielsson@scania.com Per-Erik Nordström, Product Affairs, tel. +46-8 55385577, mobile phone +46-70 5535577 or e-mail per-erik.nordstrom@scania.com Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 23,500 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 1998, turnover totalled SEK 45,300 million and income after financial items SEK 3,200 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and approximately 96 percent of total production is sold outside Sweden. Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/04/29/19990429BIT00090/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/04/29/19990429BIT00090/bit0002.pdf