Some of the fruits of our philosophy are gradually starting to appear. Sure enough, fuel consumption and CO2 emissions from Volvo trucks have been reduced by 20 percent over the past 20 years. And viable new breeds of alternative fuel trucks will be appearing on the roads in the not too distant future.
Furthermore, we’ve proven that the interests of the environment go hand-in-hand with the interests of hauliers. Take the cost of fuel. If it represents one third of your cost base, then a tiny reduction in consumption will noticeably improve your bottom line.
Operational costs, too, begin to shrink as we drive trucks in a way that has less impact on the environment. And here’s another thing. The radical reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and particulates from our diesel engines has become a huge competitive advantage. Not only for Volvo, but for the hauliers who drive our trucks and for the customers who have their goods transported in them.
Over the next 10 years we aim to reduce fuel consumption by another 10 percent. Often using microscopic improvements to efficiency, occasionally with something completely new, like our methane-diesel technology or perhaps DME. We’ll carry on working away like this for as long as it takes to achieve sustainable levels of emissions, carbon neutral transports and independence from fossil fuels.
Even then, every drop will count.