EURO-6 AND AERODYNAMIC TRAILERS The replacement cycle for trailers is
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a long one; think 12 to 15 years. Not only is trailer refurbishment a cost-effective means by which old can be made new again, crucially, the key driver of product replacement in the transport sector — legislation — leaves the trailer business fairly unscathed.
Euro-6 might change that. With Scania placing a €.1bn price tag per manufacturer on compliance, there is much understandable nervousness among the OEMs, which are faced not only with a sharp increase in R&D costs, but, also the unenviable task of trying to pass on a likely 20% price hike to truck operators.
There seems to be a growing consensus that merely targeting NOx and particulate matter is no longer appropriate, and that CO2 reduction is the future. Euro-6 will be CO2 negative through increased fuel consumption, and so aerodynamic trailers — proven to reduce CO2 emissions — may play a central role in an antidote to Euro-6, something that the industry would certainly welcome. If this proves to be the case, then a fundamental dynamic of the truck industry — that truck and trailer be considered as separate units — would have to change.