Final in Scania’s European competition for young truck drivers in Sweden - and live on the internet

​Tomorrow (Friday, October 8), eighteen of Europe’s best young truck drivers will begin their battle for Scania’s 2010 Young European Truck Driver championship. The winner will be proclaimed after an exciting precision driving event featuring the three best national finalists on Saturday, October 9. For the first time, there is a female driver among these finalists: 24-year-old Sandra Zeller of Switzerland.

Scania expects a large crowd and is inviting the general public to an Open House between 11:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The company will broadcast the final of the driver competition live on its website www.scania.com, as well as providing reports on Twitter and Facebook.

“Everyone is welcome to experience the final and to participate in the many different activities we are organising around the competition area, next to our chassis workshop in Södertälje,” says Mikael Person, who is in charge of the Scania competition. He expects 5,000-10,000 visitors, provided the fine autumn weather holds.

The 18 drivers who will battle for the winning title at the European final in Södertälje qualified by winning regional and national competitions which attracted more than 10,000 contestants.

During the two-day final, they will compete in such tests as defensive and fuel-economy driving, cargo securing, pre-driving checklists and safety manoeuvring.

“This competition puts the spotlight on drivers, celebrates their professional skills and highlights their contributions to society. In this way, we want to raise the status of drivers and attract more young people into the profession,” Mr Person concludes.

Scania began its driver competitions in Europe in 2003. The competitions, which now take place globally, focus on the value of capable, highly skilled drivers as well as on the role of driver training in improving road safety awareness of reducing environmental impact.

The driver is the single most important factor in operating economy, environment and safety. Capable and committed drivers contribute to energy-efficient transport, lower emissions and better road safety.

Scania’s Young European Truck Driver competition has the endorsement of the European Commission and the International Road Transport Union. Its sponsor is Michelin. The final in Sweden is also sponsored by Volkswagen Group Sweden.

Scania is also running similar competitions in Latin America, Africa and Asia.

For further information, please contact:

• Hans-Åke Danielsson, Press Manager, tel. +46 8 553 856 62
• Mikael Person, Project Manager for Young European Truck Driver,  tel. +46 8 553 856 57

Scania is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. A growing proportion of the company’s operations consists of products and services in the financial and service sectors, assuring Scania customers of cost-effective transport solutions and maximum uptime. Employing some 32,000 people, Scania operates in about 100 countries. Research and development activities are concentrated in Sweden, while production takes place in Europe and South America, with facilities for global interchange of both components and complete vehicles. In 2009, net sales totalled SEK 62 billion and net income amounted to SEK 1.1 billion. Scania press releases are available on www.scania.com