Up to 8% fuel savings? Thanks Scania, that’s Super

May 21, 2026

The Scania Super powertrain is not new (it was first released in Europe in 2021) but South African customers have been testing demo models locally for the past nine to 12 months. Julia Tew visited Scania in Aeroton to see what the fuel-efficiency fuss is all about.

“The biggest saving is always fuel.” Mark Erasmus, general manager of sales and marketing at Scania South Africa, made this statement to a room full of journalists at a time when the fuel crisis, and thus fuel efficiency, is top of mind for almost everyone – both within and outside the industry.

If this statement holds true, then its rationalisation surely couldn’t come in a better form than the Scania Super fully optimised combustion powertrain. At its heart is the 13-litre six-cylinder engine with a single cylinder head casting and dual overhead camshafts – one for intake valves, one for exhaust valves – as well as a new engine management system to ensure superior operating economy under all conditions. With a power range up to 560hp and torque up to 2800Nm, it delivers more power than ever before, as well as extreme stamina, producing effortless propulsion and peak torque at lower r/min.

Then there’s the Scania Twin SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) system, responsible for cleaning up the toxic nitrogen oxide (NOx) gases produced by diesel engines as a byproduct of combustion. The more thermally efficient engine extracts more energy from the fuel, which means the exhaust gases leaving the engine are cooler than before. SCR systems need heat to work properly, so the better the engine, the harder it becomes for a conventional single-pass SCR system to do its job. So, instead of having one injection point for AdBlue, the Twin SCR uses two.

This dual dosing of AdBlue in the powertrain’s exhaust aftertreatment process makes it possible to redefine the limits of combustion performance while still meeting future expected legal requirements with even higher demands on NOx emissions. The resulting overall improvements in the engine’s combustion, aspiration and emissions performance; its lubrication and cooling; and its turbocharging efficiency are enough to bring tears to any Swedish engineer’s eyes.

While the Scania Super is the most advanced and efficient combustion-engine powertrain Scania has ever built, setting a newstandard for sustainable transport operations, it’s so much more than just a new engine. It’s a symphony of components, performing seamlessly together: engine, transmission and the faster-gearing R756 single reduction rear axle are all purpose-designed to enable real-world efficiencies and deliver up to 8% better fuel economy. It also boasts an improved operative range, superior technical robustness and an extended component service lifetime.

All of this speaks to a Scania basic principle that is also one of Erasmus’ favourite terms: total operating economy (TOE). The difference between TOE and the traditional total cost of ownership (TCO), where only costs are considered, is that with TOE the revenue side of a transporter’s finances is also weighed in. A prime example of this is shared in another story – that of Swedish haulage company Herbert Ulfhielm Fjärrtransport, which tested a new 13-litre Scania 560 S truck. The fuel consumption levels were so low that the customer initially thought there must be a mistake.

“You are used to trucks where if you get under 40 litres/100km, then you are quite happy,” remarked company employee Jerry Olofsson, who’s been driving trucks for 23 years. “But during the latest trips now, I’ve sometimes been below 34 or even 33 litres – and that’s with a heavy timber payload. The first time I checked it and counted it myself, I thought: ‘I must have forgotten to log some refuelling’.”

Definitely no mistakes here, Jerry. “Fuel consumption is significantly reduced for a very broad part of the engine speed and load area,” confirmed Magnus Nilsson, technical manager within Aftertreatment at Scania’s Technical Centre in Sweden. “This means that many different applications, such as long-haul, construction and forestry vehicles, will all benefit from the improvements and emit less CO₂.”

Comfort is also something the Scania engineers worked hard to build into the Super’s design. The engine-integrated compression release brake (CRB) system, for instance, introduces powerful auxiliary braking capacity up to 350kW – delivering a smoother and safer drive. It works optimally with a larger total spread from the Opticruise G25 (or G33) gearbox, combined with the faster and optimised axle gear ratios, to deliver peak torque at an even lower r/min. As one of the smoothest and smartest gearbox systems on the market, the Opticruise contributes not only to the powertrain’s fuel economy, but also to a smoother drive with fewer gear changes and less noise – even in the toughest terrains and with the heaviest payloads.

While those attending this year’s NAMPO event in Bothaville, Free State, got a close-up view of the Super at the Scania stand, the journalists visiting the Aeroton production facility a week previously were treated to a walk-through of the impressive new plant where Scania trucks are assembled – complete with their new Super powertrains.

Scania South Africa’s managing director Erik Bergvall and production head Christian Håkansson led one of the tours, explaining how the assembly plant was opened in January 2025, combining three different sites into one purpose-built facility. Here, true to Swedish form, order and quiet efficiency prevail: logistics flows ensure that the components and parts shipped from the EU or Brazil are unpacked from their containers (ex Durban Port) into the neighbouring warehouse and then transferred to the main building for unpacking and sorting.

“Around 70% of the activity in this plant is logistics related,” noted Håkansson, who added that the modular nature of assembly, involving a series of stations, really simplifies the process without requiring automation or robotic equipment.

The plant has the technical capacity to assemble 14 vehicles a day, said Bergvall, which equates to around 3,000 units in a good year. Production currently only features Scania trucks, but in future buses will also be assembled in the plant.

The truck really starts to take shape at the station where the chassis is fitted. To complement the improved robustness and efficiency of the Super powertrain, Scania developed its most versatile and robust chassis yet. Based on the Scania modular system, it offers a more predictable chassis layout to not only facilitate the bodybuilding process, but also significantly improve load distribution, payload potential, fuel capacity and the operative range of the truck. The D-shaped aluminium fuel tanks, ranging from 165 to 910 litres, feature a geometric design that’s lighter and more robust than ever. Side-mounted SCR tanks are also included.

All electrical components and telematics units are installed in the final station. Once operational, the units are used to check that each vehicle has been properly assembled with correct, well-functioning parts. Thereafter, the trucks are driven into testing bays for brake evaluation and wheel alignment, as well as two quality control stations. All vehicles are taken out on the road for a test drive, too, before being delivered to dealerships and customers. Once a week, a truck off the line is randomly chosen to undergo a four-day audit.

New Scania 420, 460 and 520 trucks with the 13-litre Super powertrain have been delivered to customers since they rolled off production from the start of April this year. While Erasmus noted that a lot of Scania’s business is in new trucks at present, the company is making sure that its used trucks are also still a good deal for customers. The replacement cycle has been changing from around three years to over four years, he said, and Scania customers should have peace of mind regarding the trade-in value of their vehicles, even when compared with new Chinese trucks.

“Our order book says we are doing the right thing,” Erasmus stated confidently. Those who are nevertheless keen to test whether, as Scania suggests, “the future really is Super”, will be looking forward to Truck Test in November 2026. This will see 16 extra-heavy trucks, including two Scania Supers, compete under real-world conditions in the industry’s ultimate test of productivity and performance. Does a podium place await this Swedish brand? Only time will tell.