SurvivingTOUGHTimes

One has to hand it to European heavy truck manufacturers - when it comes to setting engineering milestones, they’re no slouches. The latest coup comes from Mercedes-Benz whose Actros just entered the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s most fuel-efficient truck. 

According to Andreas Renschler, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Daimler Trucks Division: “A 40-tonne truck has turned the dream of a ‘one-litre car’ into reality: as the result of a test drive at Nardo in southern Italy, the new Actros tractor-trailer has set a world record as the most fuel-efficient truck in its category. The Actros was driven around the clock for seven days hauling a 25-tonne payload at an average speed of 80 km/hr for a total distance of nearly 13,000 km. Its fuel consumption around the test course was exactly 19.44 litres of diesel per 100 km, or the equivalent of less than 0.8 litres per 100 tonne-kilometres (tkm). This was a feat that has won the Mercedes-Benz Actros an entry in the Guinness World Records in the ‘most fuel efficient truck’ category. With these remarkable fuel consumption figures, the Actros demonstrated that the automotive vision of a ‘one-litre car’ is achievable.” 

South Africa will have to wait a few years before BluTec technology reaches our shores, but an important additional factor in the test was the low emissions rating achieved by the Actros. “As a result of its low fuel consumption, the 40-tonne tractor-trailer also performs considerably better in terms of environmental friendliness,” says Renschler. “The Actros produces a mere 20.5g of CO₂ per tonnekilometre (g/tkm), significantly less than currently available hybrid trucks (combining combustion and electric motors), which emit 297 g/tkm of CO₂. Even the yet-to-be realised ‘one-litre car’ would produce as much as 53 g/tkm of CO₂.” 

Efficient drive technology

Highly efficient state-of-the-art Mercedes- Benz technology underpins these recordbreaking results. Over the decades, the diesel consumption of Mercedes-Benz trucks has been reduced by more than a third, while transport capacity has increased by the same degree, adds Renschler. “In the last few years, BlueTec diesel technology has brought further substantial progress: two to five percent lower fuel consumption, or, depending on the application, annual savings of 1,500 litres to 2,000 litres of diesel per truck. And every litre of diesel fuel saved translates into 2,640 g less CO2 emitted into the environment. Today, there are already 150,000 Mercedes-Benz BlueTec trucks on the road.” 

Fuel consumption can be reduced 

Valuable lessons for SA transporters can be learned from the fuel consumption test in Nardo, most importantly, what factors increase fuel consumption on the road. “Inadequate transportation infrastructure and a lack of traffic management, incorrect vehicle configuration, inadequate vehicle maintenance and inefficient driving practices all play a role in pushing up fuel consumption,” says Renschler. 

“Correct vehicle configuration can influence fuel consumption right from day one. Installing additional aerodynamic equipment, for instance, will lower diesel consumption by up to ten percent. The same applies to tyres. Mercedes- Benz offers super-wide rear-axle tyres for its trucks, instead of conventional twin tyres – affording potential fuel savings of up to two percent. Insufficient tyre pressure, however, is the greater culprit, and can increase fuel consumption by up to eight percent,” he concludes.