On my recent road trip back to blighty I got to thinking about the various makes of truck, and what drives the choice a haulage company makes.
I assume, possibly incorrectly, that it mainly comes down to running costs. Or are there other factors that come into play like quality (perceived or otherwise), style, comfort etc?
Do Renault trucks break down often with faults that the garage can't fix. Do Mercedes trucks command higher prices because owners think they're buying quality, but in fact they rust away after a few years and the dealers charge a bomb to fix. Are Volvo trucks just Fords underneath, but with better seats. Do MAN (owned by VW I think) owners believe they're buying a quality product when in fact they're nothing special?
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Maybe if you buy half a dozen Merc pantechnicons, they chuck in a C class for the guy who signs the cheque.
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Just had a quick look and it appears that Volvo trucks have (had) nothing to do with Ford.
What I did find more interesting is that their business areas consist of Volvo Trucks, Mack, Renault Trucks and various other Volvo bits. No idea that Renault and Volvo truck were related.
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Daimler Benz are the largest commercial vehicle builders.
Volvo are the second largest. When Volvo sold the car manufacturing business to Ford, they retained the truck manufacturing business. They took over the Renault trucks business in 2001.
PACCAR are the thrid largest - and own the American brands of Peterbilt and Kenilworth, and DAF.
MAN are stand-alone - although they did have a joint venture with VW in the 1980's. MAN also own Volkswagen Truck & Bus in South America. MAN tried to buy Scania a couple of years ago, but were thwarted by VW, who have since increased their shareholding in Scania to become the main owner.
Last edited by: Auristocrat on Sun 13 Jun 10 at 13:18
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Renault and Volvo (cars) have had a tie up for years iirc
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"Willi Betz" truck fleet is subsidized by Daimler Benz;Norbert by Renault.Iveco(Fiat) gradally took over the Ford(Europe)Truck business-Ford kept the Transit.
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Well there used to be so many reasons for choosing the right lorry ( trucks are American!) for the job but now it all down to fuel consumption, running costs and residual value.
We tried Iveco's and I can safely say they will bever darken our yard again!
We tried 4 DAF's but they have been trouble with electrical problems.
Mercedes are cheaper and don't have nall that many problems vut are termed a 'recycled U Boat' by the drivers.
Volvo and Scania make up the main part of the fleet and there isn't a lot to choose between them really.
Scania hold their price better and have less problems, but are dearer to buy though fuel consumtion is slightly better.
My choice.......Scania every time. It's a piece of precision engineering made for the discerning driver IMHO.
Pat
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Truck choice - Iffy
