This may come as a bit of a surprise, but Scania’s largest assembly facility isn’t located somewhere in Sweden, but in the Netherlands. The high-volume factory in the city of Zwolle was established in 1964 and now churns out around 40% of Scania’s yearly, worldwide production. The maximum output is 240 units per day.
On May 14, 2025, the one-millionth Scania rolled off the plant’s Pollux production line. It speaks for itself that the honor didn’t go to a lease-white, least powerful, 4×2 base model with a day cab.
The very first vehicle made in Zwolle in 1964 was this Scania-Vabis L56 4×2 tractor, pictured in the livery of its first owner (prior to 1969, the name of the manufacturer was Scania-Vabis). These days, the ol’ conventional tractor is on display at the entrance hall of the factory, painted in the Scania-Vabis demo colors of yore.
Unsurprisingly, the one-millionth Scania is the absolute flagship of the truck maker’s current product line, so with their biggest cab and most powerful turbodiesel.
Inside the S-series’ Highline cab, with a flat floor and a roof raised to the max. As an aside, for many years, Scania has been known for their endlessly adjustable steering wheels.
The Pounding Eight, housing underneath the cab floor; a 16.4 liter V8, known as the DC16. The top dog of the V8 line is good for 770 DIN-hp and 3,700 Nm (2,729 lb-ft).
The Celebration Edition comes with a classic 6×2 drivetrain, air suspension on all axles, and Scania’s G38 Opticruise automated manual transmission with a crawler gear, retarder, and three driving modes.
An impression of the skyline of Zwolle, as depicted on the tractor’s side panels.
The Zwolle assembly facility from a bird’s point of view (most likely, the picture was taken by a zwollow). I assume this is the current situation, as I got the picture straight from the factory’s official website.
A lot of brand new Scanias in the lot. No conventionals, and there’s absolutely nothing you are allowed to drive with just a car driver’s license.
Soon enough, after the upcoming auction, we’ll know where this two-tone griffin is going to spread its wings.
Wow, this truck looks like a great place to spend the day!
Count me among those who didn’t know that Scania’s largest factory isn’t in Sweden.
Great graphics on this truck – I particularly like the skyline is particularly well integrated into the side.
Here, at least in the upper left hand part of the lower 48 US states, cabovers are rare. And sleeper cabs ubiquitous, some of them large and elaborate.
Are sleeper cabs unusual in Europe? Conventional cabs?
Cabovers are rare enough (here in the eastern US) that I try to photograph them whenever I see one. A few weeks ago I saw this Freightliner Argosy on the road. Turns out it’s a 2014 that was originally built as a Glider (a rolling chassis without a drivetrain, which was later added by an aftermarket firm). I wish I had gotten more photos of it.
Sweet! The last Argosy for the export market was built in 2020.
Pictured below a ‘Dutch’ Argosy. It started its career in the Netherlands as a 6×4 logging truck, later it was converted into the current tractor unit.
Its history with some more pictures:
https://bigtruck.nl/nieuws/de-freightliner-argosy-van-vosse
Very interesting! If that truck was purchased from Oklahoma, and it’s a 2014, then it too was probably a Glider.
Before looking into Argosys after seeing this one, I didn’t know that they were exported until 2020, and didn’t know anything about those Glider chassis (a practice that the US government essentially shut down eventually, supposedly for environmental reasons). I don’t see Argosys much around here – this was the first one I’ve seen in 2 years or so. Too bad, because it’s a nice-looking truck.
Here’s another picture of that Argosy. I find it interesting that it’s a long wheelbase, but the 5th wheel attachment is way at the back:
That’s because of bridge formula regulations, I guess. On the downside, there’s a full truckload of aerodynamic drag between the tractor’s cab and the semi-trailer.
Just like a commenter from Australia (IIRC) a while ago, I wonder how those bridge formulas work out in the real world, as all the weight is clearly resting on the tractor’s tandem and the semi-trailer’s tandem. The tractor’s front axle doesn’t contribute anything to the weight distribution. It only carries the relatively light cab, the engine, and the driver. So why is that lightweight package at the front so far ahead of the ‘business part’?
Broadly speaking, the conventional truck/tractor has become an American phenomenon (North America, more specifically). In the rest of the world, the trucking business has shifted to cabovers.
Tall cabovers with a sleeper cab, like the article’s Scania, are utterly common in Europe. The honor for the biggest factory tilt cab in my part of the world goes to the DAF XG+, introduced in the summer of 2021. A mighty fine example:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/trucks-and-heavy-equipment/truck-show-outtake-2023-daf-xg-530-ftg-6×2-4-tractor-fond-of-bond/
Yes 100% Sleeper Cabs
It’s very difficult to describe this beautiful truck in just a few words.
I’m guessing the production order was juggled a bit to make sure number 1,000,000 was the right truck. Are those giant taillights normal on Scanias or an option?
I guess a US equivalent would be the Kenworth W900L Legacy edition with the big grille and retro paint, or simply a top spec Freightliner Cascadia, which oddly is a Mercedes Benz to Scania’s Volkswagen.
‘I’m guessing the production order was juggled a bit to make sure number 1,000,000 was the right truck’.
Certainly, see second paragraph. Such a milestone begs for something special. Many typical owner-operator aftermarket parts on the tractor, like those taillight units.
Johannes: Many of us have long believed that European cars are superior to American. With your extensive knowledge of European trucks could you compare them to American models?
A direct comparison is not possible, because we’re talking about two completely different markets. Length, weight limits (axle weight limits included), daily circumstances (long, straight roads vs twisting and turning all day long in more intense traffic), road conditions, cabovers vs conventionals, drivetrains (4×2 and 6×2 chassis dominate on-highway trucking in Europe), automated manuals have become the norm in Europe, and so on.
One thing is for certain though, the Swedes (through Volvo) and the Germans (through Daimler and Traton) largely dominate the global market for heavy trucks and tractors. And power-wise, no one comes close to Scania (max. 770 DIN-hp) and Volvo (max. 780 DIN-hp).
Thank you. I will now look at the European makes with more understanding of their merits. The sales figures probably are indicative of the assessments of buyers. See a lot of Volvo trucks now, however (blank’s) tariffs could realign the market.
Once upon a time, US trucks were considered quite crude comfort-wise compared to European ones (a bit like British ones!) and they used proprietary engines and drivelines. Euros were more in-house, like Mack was.
The West Coast ones did use a lot of aluminum and were capable of huge mileages at very high speeds with their comparatively huge power. So they were sort of advanced in their own way. That’s incidentally why there was no room in US COE cabs – huge doghouses for cooling huge engines. We could put a small radiator under the floor and cant the engine under the seats, like a distribution truck.
Now the US has largely been taken over by the Euros and excessive legislation has resulted in huge electronic/complexity issues for both sides, the markets seem to have more-or-less converged. Some of the US cabs (Volvo particularly) seem to be based upon their European counterparts too, so are a lot more refined than they used to be. You can nevertheless get sleeper cabs over there that Euros would call an apartment.
So yes and no….