Scania annual report 2004

World-class resources
under one roof
Customer needs are at the core of Scania’s research and development work. Today the
company’s R&D resources in all product areas are gathered at the Scania Technical Centre
in Södertälje.
Scania’s research and development expenditures
in 2004 totalled SEK 2,219 m.
(2,151). Among other things, the 1,700
engineers at the Scania Technical Centre
have access to 29 engine test cells and
nearly 20 km of test tracks. They also have
chassis test rigs, shake rigs, cold and heat
chambers, noise chambers and a wellequipped
chemical analysis laboratory.
Gathering all research and development
at one site is advantageous in terms of
staff utilisation and technical resources, as
well as expertise and dissemination of
knowledge. Testing and analysis are jointly
planned for trucks and buses, as well as
for industrial and marine engines. Staff and
expertise are utilised cross-functionally in
order to smooth out variations in the workload.
Controlled by customer needs
To find out about customer needs, Scania
uses a number of channels: customer
clinics, interviews, field tests, monitoring
of competitors and industry developments
and reporting systems from its markets.
Impulses for research and development
work also emerge from Scania’s intensive
quality monitoring at production units and
in the field. R&D projects may also result
from requirements imposed by public
authorities or from future trends and
development opportunities that Scania
identifies.
Emissions the biggest challenge
The biggest challenge – in terms of technology
and resources – is to develop the
engines of tomorrow. Scania’s solid reputation
as a supplier of highly efficient, easyto-use
engines is an important success
factor, which has built up the Scania brand
over the years.
Here Scania has successfully defended
and strengthened its leading position during
the past decade, not least because of
its transition to a completely modularised
engine range. Today this range includes
straight five- and six-cylinder engines with
swept volumes of 9–12-litres, as well as a
powerful 16-litre V8 engine with outputs of
up to 580 hp.
By developing a number of systems
inhouse – among them fuel injection, engine
management, turbocompounding and
exhaust gas recirculation – Scania has
created flexibility to meet the increasingly
stringent environmental standards demanded
by society and imposed by public
authorities. These systems are utilised in
different combinations, so that each engine
is tailored for its application.
Legislation mainly specifies threshold
limits for two substances in heavy vehicle
exhausts: nitrogen oxides and particulates.
There is also an increasing focus on emissions
of so-called greenhouse gases. Carbon
dioxide emissions are directly proportional
to a vehicle’s fuel consumption, and
this leads to greater interest in fuel-efficient
engines.
The EU sets “Euro” emission standards.
Euro 1 was introduced in the early 1990s,
and Euro 4 standards will take effect soon
– in 2005 for newly designed engines and
in 2006 for all engines. The next step will
be Euro 5 in 2008/2009. There are currently
no global emission or testing standards.
This leads to extra development work for
global market players. However, both the
heavy vehicle industry and public authorities
are endeavouring to achieve coordination
at a global level for the next step,
which is projected to be due around 2012.
The challenge for an engine developer
is that decreasing nitrogen oxide emissions
traditionally leads to higher fuel consumption.
However, technological advances over
the years have made it possible to gradually
reduce emissions without adversely affecting
fuel economy.
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