BMW Group and IVECO Team Up To Test Stralis NP for Long Haul Trucking

Automobile manufacturers are getting more and more serious about alternative fuel sources. This is doubly important in trucking, where there is heightened concern over carbon emissions given the scale of the industry. Numerous partnerships have developed over the past few years involving companies that are putting their heads together to address some of the challenges involved in alternative fuel technologies. One such partnership involves BMW Group and IVECO, which recently completed a pilot project for using liquefied natural gas (LNG) trucks, like the IVECO Stralis NP, for long-haul transport.

530 Kilometers on a Single Tank

The ultimate goal of this project was to see how the Stralis NP would perform as part of BMW Group’s logistics arm. The test run centered on the LNG-powered Stralis NP 400 truck. It made a 530-kilometer round trip, from Steyr, Austria, to Regensburg, Germany, and back again, all on one tank of fuel. In addition to being highly fuel-efficient, vehicles that run on LNG also tend to have lower noise levels, which makes them a perfect fit for operating in urban areas with noise level restrictions. What’s more, emissions can be up to 60% lower with LNG trucks relative to traditional vehicles.

The New Stralis NP

The new generation of Stralis NP has a 460-horsepower engine, which means it can haul as much cargo as a traditional diesel truck but has a potential range of up to 1,500 kilometers before needing to refuel. IVECO also points out that the Stralis NP stands up to diesel trucks not only in terms of performance, but also in total cost of ownership, because it can be used for long-haul transport even in heavier usage, such as up to 120,000 kilometers per year. All of these components add up to make the IVECO Stralis NP an excellent fit for retail, grocery, and many other industries.