Tests show HGV efficiency gain of up to 3%

The oil company Shell claims that one of its HGV fuel products is in fact delivering considerable economy gains. In other words, internal heavy-duty engine tests of Shell Diesel, combined with a fuel economy formula, indicate efficiency improvements for HGVs of up to 3%. Apparently, earlier this year, Shell supplied Mercedes-Benz, just when an Actros set a world record at the Nardo test site in Italy for the most economical series production HGV. Thus, the 40-tonne Actros combination of both trailer and tractor consumed 19.44 litres of diesel per 100km over a seven-day, round-the-clock test drive.

Nevertheless, Shell’s collaboration with Daimler, the world’s largest supplier of HGVs, is considered crucial and necessary, and it can also be rather beneficial. In addition to this, Ruth Cairnie, Shell’s vice-president for global commercial fuels, believes that Shell’s collaboration with Daimler can undoubtedly help them to deliver integral HGV-technology solutions to their customers, HGV drivers and companies in particular.

Cairnie says: “Our collaboration with Daimler is very important to Shell, as it provides valuable input into our own product development and helps us to deliver technological solutions to our customers. Of course, there are those who believe that the 3% we got from our tests are of minor significance, but we, as a team, think that these 3% are of vast importance; they show considerable efficiency improvements for HGVs, which is exactly what we were aiming at, and the tests are just one step towards achieving our ultimate goal.”