News. January 2008.

The European Commission wishes to apply a wide range of measures aiming to bring about community objectives in the area of climate change, decided during the March summit under the German presidency. As well as anti-pollution norms (Euro-6 is coming shortly), Europe wishes to arrive at a noticeable reduction in utility vehicles’ fuel consumption. A directive proposition is aiming to significantly reduce emissions through the purchase (especially by public authorities and communes) of vehicles which respect the environment. www.truckeurope.net

The European Commission’s proposal concerning the Euro-6 norm applicable to vehicles of over 3.5 tonnes is entering its legislative phase. The norm is scheduled for 2013 and should reduce emissions of nitrogen oxide by 80% compared to Euro-5, with fine particulates dropping by 60%. Euro-6 will also constitute an important step towards global harmonisation in limiting emissions from HGV’s. www.truckeurope.net

The International Road transport Union (IRU) will hold its 31st World Congress on May 15th and 16th in Istanbul. The event will bring together some 2000 political leaders and personalities from the road transport sector from more than 70 countries. The theme of this year’s congress is ‘Road transport, a vector for peace and prosperity’. The Logist Show will be held in parallel with the IRU Congress, representing an international platform for showcasing all the innovations and evolutions in the field of transport and logistics. www.iru.org

The Danish dairy products group Arla Foods has ordered 193 trucks from Scania, including both tractor units and distribution trucks for its operations in Sweden, Denmark and the United Kingdom.

The trucks will be used both for distribution services in urban environments and for long-haul transport between the group’s depots. Deliveries from Scania will begin during 2008 and will be completed early in 2009.

The order is one of the largest Scania has received from Scandinavian-based customers. It also includes repair and maintenance contracts for all of the trucks.

"Arla's selection of Scania confirms that large customers with operations in a number of countries not only appreciate the good performance and high quality of our vehicles. It also shows that our well developed service network meets the requirements of professional transport operators for maintenance contracts that ensure high uptime for their trucks," says Anders Lööf, head of Scania International Fleet Sales.

The trucks delivered to Arla Foods will be equipped with Scania’s 9- or 12-litre engines, which employ Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) technology to meet Euro 4 emissions requirements without exhaust aftertreatment. www.tnn.co.uk