"We were already convinced of the favourable fuel economy offered by DAF trucks", says Björn Schade, a member of the management board at the German transport company Schade Logistic GmbH. "But the new generation performs discernibly better, and is even more economical."
Schade Logistics GmbH specialises in the national and international transportation of sheet glass, construction materials and paper. The fleet consists of 210 trucks in total, all of which are DAFs. Five of them are equipped with the renewed MX engine with ATe technology. "These are even more efficient", enthuses Björn Schade. "The result for us is lower costs per kilometre, and we are helping the environment, as fuel consumption and CO2 emissions are proportionally linked to each other."
Bonuses for the driver
In principle, telematics systems allow the German transport operator to keep an eye on the actual driving performance and exact consumption per truck on a daily basis. In practice, this translates to him drawing up an overview on a weekly basis, which is enough to be able to react promptly to spikes in fuel consumption. Every month, Schade posts the kilometre performances and the fuel consumption of all drivers on the blackboard, so that every driver can see where he stands and where he can still make improvements. The German company uses bonuses to involve its drivers in cost savings.
Enthusiastic drivers
After the first few months of using the new DAF 460-hp EEV-model tractors, the five drivers are enthusiastic about the development. The drivers all agree that the renewed MX engine feels even more powerful to drive. Travelling uphill is easier in particular, with improved climbing ability; this is in part thanks to the new AS Tronic automated gearbox with twelve gears. This requires fewer gear changes, resulting in fewer interruptions to the pulling power, even better performance and lower consumption.
"In September, the average fuel consumption for the new XF105s was 30.8 litres per 100 kilometres and in October this fell even further to 30.5 litres", says Schade. That adds up to a saving of almost 8% compared with the average fleet consumption of 33 litres of diesel per 100 kilometres. "The lion's share of these savings is down to the further improved MX engine. Thanks to the good engine performance, we were also able to opt for a longer rear axle transmission and a different tyre size."