Scania knows Kiwi truckies are a discerning bunch, which is why the overwhelmingly positive results from a recent online survey asking drivers and owners about their preferred truck brands means truckloads to the Scania NZ team.

The survey generated more than 1000 respondents. Spoiler alert: Scania came out tops – by a long way.

Scania NZ managing director Victor Carvalho says there is nothing better for a brand and a team than to see the results of its focus and efforts strongly validated by its most important critics – its customers and industry peers.

“The Scania NZ team works tirelessly to make its customers’ needs its top priority. So, to come out as No.1 across so many categories, from safety to comfort and performance to sustainability, is incredibly motivating as we always continue to look to improve,” he adds.

Carvalho says one of the survey’s most gratifying results for his team’s hard work and focus is the noticeable increase in the number of truckies who already drive a Scania compared with those who would prefer to drive one if they had the choice.

He is also very proud that this stakeholder success has not come about by chance.

Scania NZ has an ongoing programme of strategic investments across its national and regional networks to ensure its customer service levels maintain pace with the brand’s ever-expanding presence in the country.

Encouragingly, they are investments that speak directly to many categories canvassed in the survey, such as after-sales servicing and parts, performance, training and sustainability.

Focus on service

Scania has developed new service centres and workshops in Invercargill and Hastings this year and invested more than $40 million in spare parts stock and the recruitment and upskilling of more than 400 technicians across the wider Scania network.

“A big player in this is our National Training Development Centre in Christchurch, which is about developing our new Scania technicians and ensuring best practice, productivity, efficiency and that the latest technology is maximised when servicing vehicles. It is all about ensuring the best capacity to service our customer base,” says Carvalho.

Focus on customer benefits

Improving the benefits for customer experience is always top of mind.

“Every services-related investment we make is done to achieve better outcomes for our customers. The more expansive our service centre network is, the more highly trained technicians we have and the more right parts that are available at their fingertips all adds up to faster servicing of customer vehicles and less down time off the road. Every dollar we invest in this area has a direct benefit to our clients’ bottom lines in their businesses,” says Carvalho.

“We aim to be the industry’s preferred solution provider, delivering premium products and services in a sustainable way with a strong dealer network. That is our commitment to customers and the ongoing focus of our fantastic team.

“So, we want to say thank you very much again to both our current and soon-to-be customers from the survey for being such an important part of our journey so far.”

Category breakdowns
A breakdown of each category’s results based on the percentage of respondents who ranked these brands as their No.1.

Comfort – the brand most considered to be ‘driver-focused and a great place to spend time’.
– Scania at 39%
– Volvo at 20%
– Kenworth at 10%

Safety – the brand that best offers all the latest safety features and technology.
– Scania at 35%
– Volvo at 25%
– Kenworth at 9%

Sustainability – the brand most seen as ‘doing their bit for people and the planet’.
– Scania at 32%
– Volvo at 24%
– Kenworth at 11%

Performance – the brand most considered to ‘deliver all you need, from torque to tonnage’.
– Scania at 34%
– Volvo at 15%
– Kenworth at 20%

Efficiency – the brand most seen as having the ‘lowest running costs’.
– Scania at 30%
– Volvo at 20%
– Kenworth at 10%

Service and parts – the brand that best offers locations and availability.
– Scania at 29%
– Volvo at 14%
– Kenworth at 21%

Overall value for money – the brand most considered as having ‘the full package’.
– Scania at 30%
– Volvo at 14%
– Kenworth at 17%