Stretched cabs for Scania

Scania has announced that it will be introducing longer cabs for its long-distance trucks, the first of which is scheduled to roll off the production line in Sweden later this year.

Scania says the longer cabs will offer increased comfort for drivers of its high-end, long-distance trucks while also opening the trucks for other applications, such as accommodating crews in areas such as mining, driving schools or recovery trucks with passenger seats.

“With the introduction of CR23 and CS23, Scania raises the bar for premium trucks even higher,” said Stefan Dorski, Senior Vice President, Head of Scania Trucks. “We will blend some of the capabilities from our Scania CrewCab into our premium cabs in the R and S series.

By doing that we add generous space that brings extra comfort and opens up for a multitude of creative solutions,” Dorski added.

Scania’s decision to offer bigger cabs is based on demand from several markets asking for cabs with added space.

Dorski said the premium S-series already has a flat floor and is praised for its spaciousness. However, with the added length, it will become something of a dream cab for those long-distance drivers who spend many nights away from home. “They can, for instance, have Scania’s expandable bed that is 100cm wide, without ever having to retract it,” he said.

The addition of 27 centimetres to the initial length of 200 cm (which is measured from the pedals to the rear wall) may sound minor but it is not: it represents an increase of more than 13 per cent, something that definitely makes a difference and opens up for many ingenious solutions.

“The most obvious benefit is of course for long-distance drivers, they are always on the lookout for comfortable premium solutions,” says Dorski. “Whether they use the space for getting more roominess in general or for selecting a wider bed – or both – remains to be seen.”

The extra space is created by adding existing cab components, which is possible thanks to Scania’s modular manufacturing system. The first deliveries to customers are scheduled to take place in the third quarter of 2021.

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“Scania’s plan is to have these cabs certified with a WVTA (Whole Vehicle Type Approval) in Q4 this year,” says Dorski. “Some countries will initially have these vehicles certified separately on their respective markets.”

A spokesman for Scania Australia said the company was still assessing whether it would take the extended cabs. However, they did say that the company was keen to offer it if it made sense to this market.