Scania has unveiled its vision of urban transportation in 2030. Not just distribution of goods, but transport of commuting humans and refuse collection, as well, all using the same vehicle.
Scania’s NXT concept vehicle, a working prototype of which is currently under construction, takes the company’s modular philosophy to a new level by providing a platform onto which a variety of dedicated modules can be mounted. The presence of a human driver doesn’t feature in the plan.
Scania sees a typical daily duty cycle as starting by carrying commuters to work, before spending the day delivering freight before changing back to passenger mode for the homeward commute. Then in the evening, it can become a refuse collection vehicle. Think of a wheeled version of Thunderbird 2.
The difference is that the NXT has separate drive modules, front and rear, providing the functions normally supplied by a truck’s driveline and chassis. Power will of course be electrical, from batteries located under the floor.
As an eight-metre bus with a lightweight composite module, weighing less than 8,000kg, the NXT is expected to have 245km range with current battery technology, although a lot is likely to happen to that aspect over the next decade.
Scania’s president and CEO Henrik Henriksson says “NXT is a vision of the future for transport in cities. Several of these technologies have yet to fully mature but for us it’s been important to actually build a concept vehicle to visibly and technically demonstrate ideas of what is within reach,” adding “NXT is designed for 2030 and beyond while incorporating several cutting-edge features that are already available.”
