TRUCK & BUS NEWS: A Session with Mr. Mats Nilsson, MD of Volvo Trucks Malaysia - On the Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch Challenge, Hybrid Trucks, B10 biodiesel and more

 Mr Mats Nilsson with Mr Nor Rahmat - winner of the 2015 Fuelwatch Challenge Malaysia)

A roller coaster ride. That's what the past month or so has been to Yours Truly. Trips, launches, visits, business meetings, family, hobbies, other pursuits have made it a very interesting period. I now have to put myself back in time to the Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge 2015 finals in Hua Hin, Thailand to give you a short report on the session we Malaysian automotive journalists/reporters/bloggers had with Mr Mats Nilsson, Managing Director of Volvo Trucks Malaysia. 

I'm the chap in blue...trying to look serious and professional during the interview session.

Mr Nilsson, Mats who I shall now address him in this article, is a nice chap who is deeply passionate about Volvo Trucks and Malaysia as well. He has been with the Volvo group since 1995 and for the last three years or so, he has been steering Volvo Trucks Malaysia to greater heights. He and the Volvo Trucks team have so far done a fabulous job here in Malaysia with increased sales to show for it. in 2014, Sales figures stood at a total of 451 units, comprising 422 Volvo and 29 Renault trucks (which are basically Volvo Trucks underneath and a separate business entity from Renault cars - much like Volvo cars and trucks). This was a 38.5% growth in Volvo Trucks sales in Malaysia. 

Anyway, our meet and chat session with Mats was about the Fuelwatch Challenge and more. We did not touch too much about the Malaysian economy that is currently seeing a slump these days as it is assumed that austerity measures will and have been taken. Most of us at the point of time were hyped about the Fuelwatch Challenge itself. 

The Fuelwatch Challenge is something big for Volvo Trucks Malaysia. According to Mats, at least 1,000 Malaysian drivers took part and this was a 25% increase in participation compared to last year. This has been the sixth year of competition and the competition as well as the increase participation is, according to him proof of the importance of good drivers by fleet or company owners. We see as an example this year's champion, Mr Nor Rahmat Abdul Talib's company Prifaria Sdn Bhd is one of those companies that put heavy emphasis on driver education and training. He also added that in the Malaysian leg, participants also came from companies that uses other brands of trucks and this is a form of marketing for Volvo Trucks. Drivers as well as company managers and operators would benefit from this increase awareness in training, safety and skill derived from this competition. Driver's skills and with the addition of a fleet monitoring system like Volvo's Dynafleet would enable savings in fuel consumption, tyre wear and vehicle maintenance too. 

So that is the benefit that drivers and operators. The 2015 APAC Fuelwatch Challenge finals saw stiff competition from the Australian and New Zealand participants. This is mainly because of the familiarity with the Volvo FH series of trucks which were used for the competition this year. Volvo Malaysia has an intention to bring in the FH series trucks to complement the FM series which is the one sold here. No word as to when the FH series trucks are to be actually launched yet by the way.

We then asked that since there were women participants from four countries at this year's challenge so would there be a chance of a Malaysian lady participating in upcoming Fuelwatch Challenges? According to Mats, women drivers in Malaysia would definitely be welcome to participate. It has been shown that women can handle these trucks elsewhere so why should it be different.

As for buses, we asked why isn't there a category for Volvo Buses in the Fuelwatch Challenge? "The bus market is quite small for Volvo at this moment, about 9,000 buses annually worldwide" said Mats, "But we will definitely see". This was the response after we mentioned that even though the market is small but the engagement between driver and the general public is a lot more than a truck driver on the highways. There could be a need to assist in educating bus driver too (especially in Malaysia). 

The other interesting question put forward was with the upsurge in motor vehicles going hybrid, would there be a chance of Volvo Trucks selling their diesel hybrid trucks here in Malaysia? Mats said that at this moment there are no plans for now even though there are products available (Volvo FE hybrids - check them out if you're interested). This I believe has to do with pricing, the size of truck (the heavy duty category of hybrid trucks aren't on sale everywhere yet from what I researched in order to write this article)  and whether there would be local acceptance. Pricing would be an issue because the costs of hybrids may be more than what the market wants for a truck. 

What Volvo Trucks Malaysia is ready for is, if or when the B10 grade of biodiesel is implemented here in Malaysia. Biodiesel is a diesel fuel produced from plant oils or animal fats. It is commonly sold blended with diesel derived from petroleum. Common blends include "B2" (2% biodiesel), "B5" (5% biodiesel), "B10" (10% biodiesel) and "B100" (100% biodiesel). Here, our B10 would mean 10% palm oil content owing to our large palm oil market of course. We had been hearing press releases from car manufacturers that some of their diesels cannot handle B10 grade and that it would cost damage to the engines. According to Mats, Volvo Trucks sold are able to handle such a grade of diesel. "Volvo is ready" said Mats, with confidence. 

There would be no major impact to Volvo Trucks  if and when B10 is implemented. There may be a change in the service schedule for older trucks and an installation of aftermarket kits to enable the older trucks to perform as they should. In fact, Mats then stated that Felda, which operates 90% Volvo Trucks in its large fleet has tested the B10 grade on their trucks with favourable results. 

So there you go. The interview with the Managing Director of Volvo Trucks Malaysia who also said that he loves it here in Malaysia (must be the food and the people...as the weather kinda sucks with the haze these days). I do hope this would let you folks understand a little bit more about Volvo Trucks in slightly more detail. 

Read More

Truck news: Images from the Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge 2015 : Real people, lots of emotion and energy.

Most of the pics below would basically tell the tale of the Malaysian Volvo Trucks contingent to the recent Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge 2015 which was recently held in Hua Hin, Thailand. There were lots of pleasant memories made over there. The pictures will tell the story as an online record to what happened then - meeting new friends, new challenges, new experiences, the laughter and more. 

Meeting new friends...

Some archery (as well as ATV riding and paintball target practice) prior to the event

The competitors of the Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge 2015

Truck driving at its best...with the Volvo FH 440

 ...here we have the Malaysian contingent consisting of journalists (with one chap from Singapore....Ben, we know your nickname!!!!) , our Champion and his company rep as well as the very, very pleasant people of Volvo Malaysia. The truck in the picture is the Volvo FM, a familiar sight on Malaysian roads

Post event briefing and press conference with Mr Christophe Martin, President Volvo Trucks Asia Oceania, (middle)

Weather was mostly like this over in Hua Hin...but it did not dampen any of the competitor's spirits

Lady drivers being honoured.. This was the first time women competed in the the Fuelwatch Challenge

... and one won. Fantastic effort.

Part of the Malaysian contingent during the Gala Dinner...

Mr Nor Rahmat with Mr Mats Nilsson, MD Volvo Malaysia

2015 Malaysian champion and 2015 Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge competitor, Mr Nor Rahmat

2015 On-road champion Ms Louise Marriott of New Zealand

2015 Off-road Champion Mr Ravi Poleboina of India 

Read More

Truck News: Volvo Trucks 2015 Malaysian Fuelwatch Challenge winner announced

Mats Nilsson, Managing Director of Volvo Malaysia flagging off the Final round of the Volvo Fuelwatch Challenge 2015 in Shah Alam on 22 August 2015

Volvo Trucks (Volvo), which operates under Volvo Malaysia, has proudly revealed the Malaysian winner of its Fuelwatch Challenge 2015 at a Gala Dinner held at the Dorsett Grand Subang last Saturday. Volvo Trucks’ annual Fuelwatch Challenge was held as a training and competition for truck drivers and it offers the participants tons of skill knowledge and information, equipping truckers with the ability to churn out the best fuel consumption possible for their vehicles. This is achieved through a process that encompasses a comprehensive approach and setting the right ergonomics between man and machine for maximum output, with minimum fuel that leads to the best vehicle productivity and increased awareness on safety. i.e fast is not always efficient, too slow is also not efficient but a certain sweet spot. 

The top three winners of Volvo Fuelwatch Challenge 2015.

The qualifying round of roadshows across various cities and towns in Malaysia kicked off earlier in April. At the recent Finals, the title winner Mr Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib, from Prifaria Sdn Bhd, Prai, defeated 17 other semi-finalists who were all vying to become Malaysia’s most fuel-efficient truck driver. As the national champion, Mr Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib is set to represent Malaysia in the competition’s APAC Finals – set to take place in Hua Hin, Thailand from 15th to 18th September 2015 where he will be competing against winners from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and Singapore among others.

Guest-of-honour at the gala dinner last saturday was Encik Mohd Yusop bin Mohamad, Assistant Director of Automotive Engineering Division, Road Transport Department (JPJ), Malaysia Ministry of Transport (MOT). He commended the company on the success of its annual Fuelwatch Challenge and its wide reach among Malaysian truck drivers and was also glad to see private companies like Volvo Trucks seriously taking the initiative and responsibility to help improve the situation for industry, environment and communities by contributing to fuel efficient and safe driving behaviour. 

The guest at the dinner was entertained by games before the dinner began with arm wrestling contests and other games. Previous winners from 2013 and 2014 were present and gave tips and pointers to those that competed this year. I personally enjoyed being in the presence of the people that ply our roads and highways. These are good people. Hard working people that are the backbone of the transport industry and therefore, our economy.

Volvo Trucks continues to champion fuel efficiency and safety; reveals 2015 Fuelwatch Challenge winner

Mr Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib, truck driver for Prifaria Sdn Bhd in Prai to represent Malaysia in

Fuelwatch Asia Finals 2015 in Thailand

(From left) Mr. Law Ah Tiong, Vice President, Aftermarket, Volvo Malaysia; 2nd place winner En. Merzuki Bin Jusoh from Prifaria Sdn Bhd in Terengganu; Dato’ Tn. Hj Wan Ahmad Azmi bin Wan Daud, Managing Director, Prifaria Sdn Bhd; 1st place winner En. Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib from Prifaria Sdn Bhd in Prai; 3rd place winner En. Md Idwan Shah Parais Abdullah from Kota Mas Oil Sdn Bhd in Kota Kinabalu; En. Rusman Bin Japalus, Managing Director, Kota Mas Oil Sdn Bhd; and Guest-of-honor En. Mohd Yusop Bin Mohamad, Assistant Director of Automotive Engineering Division, Road Transport Department (JPJ), Malaysia Ministry of Transport.

Shah Alam, 24 August (Monday) 2015 - In its continuous quest to advocate fuel efficiency and road safety among truck drivers who are the life blood of the economy, Volvo Trucks (Volvo), which operates under Volvo Malaysia, has proudly revealed the Malaysian winner of its Fuelwatch Challenge 2015 at a Gala Dinner held at the Dorsett Grand Subang last Saturday.

Volvo Trucks’ annual Fuelwatch Challenge was held as a training and competition for truck drivers and it offers a treasure trove of skills and information, equipping truckers with the ability to churn out the best fuel consumption possible for their vehicles. This is achieved through a process that encompasses a comprehensive approach and setting the right ergonomics between man and machine for maximum output, with minimum fuel that leads to the best vehicle productivity and increased awareness on safety.

The qualifying round of roadshows across various cities and towns in Malaysia kicked off earlier in April. Today at the Finals, the title winner Mr Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib, from Prifaria Sdn Bhd, Prai, defeated 17 other semi-finalists who were all vying to become Malaysia’s most fuel-efficient truck driver.

The sixth instalment of this annual competition, this year’s challenge saw an overwhelming participation of over 1,000 drivers – an increase from last year’s participation of 800 drivers.

Recording the highest overall accumulated score based on theoretical tests during the preliminary rounds, Mr Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib was one of the 18 truck drivers to push through to the semi-finals and finals – where contestants needed to battle it out in a real time driving challenge covering a 45km distance. During the real time fuel efficiency test, Mr Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib achieved the lowest fuel consumption, clocking 2.83 kilometres with just one litre of fuel while carrying a load of 20 tonne in the Volvo FM 440 with i-shift technology.

Close behind were Mr Merzuki Bin Jusoh from Prifaria Sdn Bhd, Terengganu and Mr Md Idwan Shah Parais Abdullah from Kota Mas Oil Sdn Bhd, Kota Kinabalu who won the second and third places respectively. Mr Merzuki Bin Jusoh achieved 2.77 kilometres per one litre of fuel and Mr Md Idwan Shah Parais Abdullah achieved 2.56 kilometres per one litre of fuel. They won themselves RM3,000 BSN voucher (second place) and RM2,000 BSN voucher (third place), and a Fuelwatch trophy each.

As the national champion, Mr Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib is set to represent Malaysia in the competition’s APAC Finals – set to take place in Hua Hin, Thailand from 15th to 18th September 2015 where he will be competing against winners from Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Indonesia, Korea and Singapore among others.

“Winning this challenge has been both a pleasant surprise and a thrill for me. I have been practicing on driving fuel-efficiently during my daily driving routine and today, it all paid off”, said Mr Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib.

He added, “It will be nerve-wrecking yet incredibly exciting to be contending with other national winners; but I am confident that if I do my best, I will hopefully be able to make Malaysia proud.”

When asked if he has any advice for other drivers and future contestants, he said that practice and commitment are vital to achieving the desired results.

“Our job requires us to be on the road roughly 8 hours a day, almost every day. While we are responsible for transporting and delivering our loads in a safe and timely fashion, we also need to ensure that we apply fuel-efficient driving techniques into our daily driving. This helps us not only reduce environmental footprints, but additionally helps us to conserve fuel – which contributes to reducing business costs. For those who have not participated in the Fuelwatch Challenge, I urge you to do so because it is a great training platform to teach drivers on safe and fuel-efficiency driving as well as empower them that the role they play makes a difference in society,” said Mr Nor Rahmat Bin Abd Talib.

The competition also goes beyond driving skills that saves fuel and increase environmental awareness as it also condones proper management, vehicle optimisation, performance monitoring, safety measures, and maintenance of the truck prior to usage. Not only will it contribute significantly to fuel efficiency on the road, it would also reduce the risk of a breakdown and more importantly, ensure the safety of the trucker.

“Quality, Safety, and Environmental Care have been our guiding principles since our inception in 1969. While we integrate these core values into our products, we strive to ensure that the end-users of our products – in this case, the drivers – also exhibit these very fundamental values in their everyday driving. We want our drivers to be of top-notch quality, who observes safe driving, and to drive and operate in the most fuel-efficient manner. These are makings of a good, responsible, and committed driver; and another point of this annual competition is to drive these values into our drivers,” said Mats Nilsson, Managing Director of Volvo Malaysia.

“Truck drivers are the backbone of the economy and as a leading truck manufacturer globally and in Malaysia, Volvo seeks to continue inspiring this change in drivers’ behaviour. We hope that our message, through our annual Fuelwatch Challenge, will continue to resonate with all Malaysian drivers, fleet operators and relevant authorities,” Nilsson said.

“On a related note, we truly welcome the Government’s recent announcement to introduce Euro 5 in a bid to have cleaner fuels on Malaysian roads, as well as the support already expressed by several petroleum companies. This is a positive move by the government to preserve the environment, it corresponds so closely with Volvo’s environmental care core value and we fully support it,” added Nilsson.

Guest-of-honour at the dinner, Encik Mohd Yusop bin Mohamad, Assistant Director of Automotive Engineering Division, Road Transport Department (JPJ), Malaysia Ministry of Transport (MOT), once again lent his support to Volvo and commended the company on the success of its annual Fuelwatch Challenge and its wide reach among Malaysian truck drivers.

“One of the key challenges for the transportation and logistics industry today is the rise in fuel costs. And overall, threats to the environment posed by excessive carbon emission is another issue we are grappling with these days. As such, on behalf of JPJ, I am glad to see private companies like Volvo Trucks seriously taking a responsibility to help improve the situation for industry, environment and communities by contributing to fuel efficient and safe driving behaviour,” said Encik Mohd Yusop.

He further added, “I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the winner of this year’s Fuelwatch Challenge who will also take on the role of Fuelwatch Ambassador 2016. I wish him the very best for the Asia Finals in Thailand in September. Do make Malaysia proud!”

Read More