Volvo Group Australia boss Arne Knaben gives strongest hint yet the local arm of the Swedish giant could be introducing a hybrid drive truck to Australia
By gworrall@acpmagazines.com.au”>Gary Worrall | April 13, 2010
Volvo Group Australia boss Arne Knaben has given the strongest hint yet the local arm of the Swedish giant could be introducing a hybrid drive truck to Australia.
In an exclusive interview with ATN, Knaben says he has driven Volvo’s hybrid drive trucks in Europe, and believes stop-start applications like waste collection are ideally suited to the low-emission technology.
“In Australia we will follow the market, we will work with the technologies that are available to us,” he says.
“But the media also needs to play a role in that introduction.”
Regardless of this strong indication of future plans, Knaben would not be drawn on specific timelines for hybrid vehicles to enter the market, despite the looming deadline for the next level of reduction of exhaust emissions under ADR80/03, to be introduced in 2011.
“Volvo does not speculate on future product until it arrives,” he says.
As well as discussing possible future technologies, Knaben is also focusing on the issues facing the company in Australia, including the integration of UD Trucks into the Volvo-Mack operation.
“We are close to the ideal of a one-stop shop for multi-brand sales, dealers are assessing client needs and offering brands based on that assessment,” he says.
For the full Arne Knaben interview, see the May edition of ATN. Visit us to subscribe, or email us see Contact Us or call 136 116 to subscribe.