Volvo will hand over 45 Volvo FH Euro 5 truck-tractors to add to DHL Supply Chain’s South African fleet. The company already took delivery of the first five units, with the balance to be delivered by November this year.
All the FH Euro 5 units were assembled in Volvo Trucks’ local plant in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Volvo Trucks South Africa started assembly of Euro 5 specification trucks at its plant in October last year, but the company’s Euro 5 variants have been available in South Africa since 2012.
“As part of our commitment to sustainability in this country, we are actually producing these vehicles locally, even though Euro 5 is not a legal requirement here yet,” said Eric Parry, Sustainability Manager at Volvo Trucks SA. “The Euro 5 vehicles are an evolution in our mission towards a more sustainable future. More and more customers have ambitions to improve their environmental footprint, which is driving the uptake of Euro 5 models locally.”
Eon Engelbrecht, DHL Supply Chain’s Director of Transport Africa, said: “We are super excited to receive our first five Euro 5 Volvo trucks. Not only are they helping provide employment by being produced locally, but they will make our environment cleaner.”
Takalani Tshirame, Volvo Trucks South Africa, Senior Manager of Product Support explained that the whole industry is shifting its focus to decreased fuel consumption and increased fleet efficiency, with a focus on more environmentally friendly technologies.
“Volvo Trucks uses SCR Technology and AdBlue in order to meet the requirements of Euro 5, and in general, the Euro 5 engines have a lower fuel consumption than an equivalent Euro 3 unit,” said Tshirame. “We also offer our customers specialised Euro 5 driver training, mainly to empower the drivers to operate their vehicles at its most efficient levels.”
“We believe in the success of sustainable transport solutions, but there is no silver bullet. That is why Volvo is focused on 3 main strategic levers: Battery electric technology, fuel cell electric and combustions technology using low carbon fuels. And we’re confident that our trucks, services, and operations will lead the way there,” concluded Tshirame.
