Scania ready with bonneted T truck
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• Scania says it will make a bonneted tractive unit for the UK market if it can guarantee at least 100 sales a year.
This decision follows the showing of a bonneted T113ML from Sweden at the Motor Show last month. Interested hauliers were given a questionnaire and Scania is currently assessing their replies.
If the manufacturer does introduce a bonneted model, it will be the first in the UK for • almost two decades. Several truck builders, including Renault, Volvo and 'veer), still make them for the Continent.
The disadvantage of bonneted vehicles is the loss of load space because of the longer tractive unit. But Scania says they might be popular with tipper and tanker hauliers, who run with shorter trailers.
Another plus is the image of bonneted trucks. It's the main selling point," says Scania. "At least two people we spoke to at the show are successful operators and are imageconscious since they always have their vehicles on show at Truckfest."
Many drivers also feel safer in a truck with a bonnet and say the ride is better as the seat is between the front two axles rather than on top of one, adds the manufacturer.
The vehicle Scania showed in Birmingham was a 4x2 lefthand-drive model, with a 1.36m long bonnet. It was set to sell the truck to a UK operator but the deal fell through. Scania is still confident of finding a buyer.
Scania says winning Type Approval for the truck will not be a problem. But if customers ask for radically different specifications it would be harder to make the model viable.