There have been plenty of innovations and celebrations for Scania Australia since its first fully imported bus hit Australian roads in 2010, with 2024 cementing itself as a breakthrough year for the brand.
Starting back in March, popular demand spurred Scania onto breaking ground on its latest heavy vehicle branch in Western Australia’s Hope Valley. The new sales and service outlet aims to be open for business in 2025 to capitalise on the increasing sales of Scania products and steady growth plan.
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“Our business has particularly grown in WA, and we noticed a need for additional company-owned sales and service capacity, as well as access to parts, to support customer uptime,” Scania Australia managing director Manfred Streit told ABC.
The recent growth also led to its first Australasian Scania Assistance centre opening in Campbellfield, Victoria only a month later. A team of five Scania Assistance service coordinators will now be based on site, with the new centre aiming to provide more detailed and efficient assistance.
“Now with the establishment of the local Australian centre, we’ll have more local knowledge and more local options for helping customers in need,” Streit says.
One of the most prominent achievements, however, saw Scania deliver its 500th fully built-up charter and school bus.
“This was a significant milestone for Scania bus and coach in Australia,” Streit says.
“With respect to our fully imported Scania and Scania-Higer products, we have had an excellent year, breaching the 500 deliveries barrier (cumulatively) in 2024.
“We started with modest aspirations for the Scania-Higer A30 school/charter bus, which first arrived in Australia in 2010, but it quickly became a firm favourite of school and charter operators as well as private schools, thanks to the high-quality Scania driveline providing reliable and durable performance.”
Since then, Streit says Scania’s partnership with Higer has delivered premium quality products that have “stood up well” to Australia’s operating conditions.
While Scania continued to develop its relationship with Higer across the years, it also moved focus to fortifying new fruitful relationships with local and international bodybuilders such as Irizar, BCI, Volgren and Express.
“Our school bus stock programme with these bodybuilders continues to be well-received by the market, and we will have more product available in 2025,” Streit says.
“We have been continually developing and expanding our product and services offered to the Australian market, drawing on feedback from customers as well as our decades of experience as a full-service provider of buses and coaches to local operators.”
A good example is the arrival of Scania’s first fully imported Touring three-axle coach, powered by a 500hp Euro 6 13L six-cylinder engine.
Launched at the National Bus and Coach Show in Brisbane in September, all eyes were on the brand to see how it was going to top an already highly regarded line.
“The high decker Scania Touring meets the needs of operators on every continent,” Streit says.
“With total control over chassis, powertrain and body, this model delivers unrivalled reliability, durability and performance.”
The first of the Scania Touring coaches will be hitting Australian roads shortly, as deliveries begin to roll onshore in 2025.
“We have also just released our high-floor Scania hybrid-electric coach chassis in partnership with Irizar Asia Pacific,” he says.
“This vehicle is perfect for those operators looking to enjoy the benefits of a 25 to 30 per cent fuel saving and associated reduction in CO2 emissions.”
What to look forward to in 2025
As the transition to zero-emissions vehicles continues to steadily filter through the industry, Scania will be focusing on providing high-quality electric options that suit the ever-changing needs of the market.
“The transition to zero-emissions vehicles will see Scania introduce a new generation of battery electric vehicle buses in 2025,” Streit says.
“These will be based on our K-series chassis and come complete with 416kWh battery packs, giving a range of 350km depending on operating conditions.”
The OEM is also focused on upgrading existing products, prioritising driver comfort and overall safety within its vehicles.
“We will also welcome the first significant update of our Scania-Higer A30 school and charter bus, with 320hp Euro 6 power,” Streit says.
“The latest generation Scania digital dashboard and a full complement of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems will be installed to improve driver, passenger and vulnerable road user safety.
“The next 12 months are set to be busy for Scania as we launch these new high-quality products that suit the needs of the industry.”
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