Scania Annual Report 2011

100 years of
innovation
In 2011, Scania’s bus and coach operations
celebrated their 100th anniversary.
Scania’s bus and coach operations have
always been characterised by an intrinsic
innovative capability. Customised solutions
fully supported in the market have always
been essential in building durable relationships
with bus and coach customers all
over the world. This was true even 100
years ago, and perhaps is even more important
today considering the challenges
that the entire transport industry is facing
when it comes to developing efficient and
sustainable transport solutions.
During the 1930s, buses dominated
Scania-Vabis sales. After the Second
World War, Scania-Vabis aimed to establish
the make in markets outside Sweden’s
borders. The Nordic countries were close
at hand, but sales also began in continental
Europe and in Brazil.
Later technological milestones were
the Metropol and Capitol buses from the
early 1950s, based on a bus concept from
U.S.-based Mack. The buses departed
from European tradition by virtue of their
U.S. design and rear-mounted engines.
MARKET – BUSES AND COACHES
The Scania-Vabis “Bulldog” was a pioneer because of its simple design, which minimised size and weight.
This bus was delivered to a local bus company in Mölnlycke, Sweden in July 1932.
”The silent bus”, launched in 1971, featured
a radical approach for reducing the
outside noise level to 77 dBA, which even
40 years later lies within the standards
required by legislation.
In the early 1980s, Scania implemented
a far-reaching modularisation. More and
more components could be utilised in both
buses and trucks.
Scania’s ethanol buses were developed
in the second half of the 1980s in
collaboration with the Greater Stockholm
Public Transport Company Limited (Storstockholms
Lokaltrafik), which gradually
expanded its ethanol bus fleet. Meanwhile
the buses were also sold to other countries,
including Brazil.
Over a 20-year period, Scania has tested
a number of hybrid concepts. The latest
of these, featuring an ethanol engine, also
went into commercial service in Greater
Stockholm. One of the hybrid buses was a
visionary concept that demonstrated how
transport operators can further boost the
attractiveness of taking the bus, compared
to driving and being stuck in traffic jams.
During the 21st century, there is increased
demand for larger, more efficient
bus systems, particularly in major cities
where congestion and pollution pose a
significant challenge. In recent years,
Scania has delivered buses and services
for such systems, including in South
Africa.
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The so-called “Nordmark” bus was the
first entirely Swedish-built omnibus. Built
by Scania in Malmö in 1911 on a truck
chassis, it was fitted with an engine and
body at Vabis in Södertälje, Sweden.
Motor vehicles found it difficult to cope
with wintry road conditions. Scania-Vabis
constructed fifteen motorised mail buses in
collaboration with the Swedish Post Office
(1922-23). The first models were fitted with
track drives and forward-mounted snow
runners, enabling them to be used when the
road was completely snow-covered.
The B75 was Scania’s first Brazilian bus.
Starting in 1959, this bus served on
long-distance routes between São Paulo
and Sumeré, Brazil. Due to the length of
the run, the bus covered 2,500,000 km in
only 13 years.
The new Scania Citywide bus series was
introduced in 2011. It includes city and
suburban buses in numerous modularised
variants. Its design has clear Scania features
that are noticeable on the roads.
Operations Scania 2011