Scania bets big on electric

While global corporate chiefs are renowned for being somewhat guarded when it comes to highlighting their company’s aspirations, in a recent interview with American network CNN, Scania boss Christian Levin wasn’t backward in coming forward regarding the Swedish’s firm’s complete commitment to the shift to sustainability.

When asked by CNN’s Richard Quest if he’d “bet the company” on electrification, Levin quickly agreed.

“Yeah, we have – you can say we have,” Levin replied.

“We have committed to delivering half of our production [as electric vehicles] in 2030 and we are setting up a complete battery factory here in Södertalje, and that’s billions in investment.

“We’re changing the whole product program – that’s more than half of our R&D efforts – and we’re collaborating … together with Volvo and Daimler, we are setting up charging infrastructure throughout Europe. That’s 500 million Euros.”

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Over a robust five-minute discussion with CNN, Levin highlighted Scania’s history as a pioneer in the journey towards road transport sustainability.

“We decided way back to say that we are going to be the company that is going to lead the transition in our industry,” he told Quest.

Levin said Scania was “ahead of the curve” on its own objective of cutting its emissions by half by 2025 and is targeting an emissions reduction of 20 per cent across the entire range of Scania trucks in the same timeframe.

And the Scania chief was just as forthright when it came to acknowledging the financial risks inherent in the truck maker’s shift.

“So we are certainly committing the company and, if we fail, we will be in big trouble,” he said.

Click here to view the CNN interview.