T Is for Tractor

The three-axle tractor market is an industry barometer: It’s the fleet that keeps the UK moving. Seven players compete in the sector and Ian Norwell reports on a recent renewal – Renault’s Range T460 6x2

- Ian Norwell

The total replacement of their entire truck range in one swoop may have looked like a dramatic way of upgrading their product line in 2013, but with Euro VI compliance required all round, and a disparate range of trucks, Renault decided it was time to be bold.

“We needed a new identity,” says vice president of Renault Trucks, Thierry Hours. “It was necessary to clean up the picture.” When he attended the Volvo group meeting that was deciding how to take on such a big job, there must have been interesting talks surrounding the level of component sharing between Volvo’s FH trucks, and the new T series. Hours obviously fought his corner well, coming away with €2bn is his attaché case.

A complete overhaul

The renewal project saw Renault’s Magnum, Premium, Lander, Kerax, and Midlum ranges all swept away, and replaced by the ‘T’ long haul, ‘K’ heavy construction, ‘C’ lighter construction, and finally their ‘D’ light distribution range. With this five-brand group structure, it raised an obvious question at the time, “Did you utilise the basic shell of Volvo’s FH cab?”

With new cabs among the big-ticket items on designers wish-lists – Scania’s new R and S series opted for new designs – some were surprised that the Range T was given a bespoke cab, with no FH parts at all. Hours says, “It was essential that the signature of the truck was as distinctive as possible. We needed to look carefully at what should be shared, and what should not. If you share it all, and just change a few panels and the badge, you no longer effectively have a separate brand.” With smaller cabs he feels that sharing, as they do with Volvo and DAF, is fine, but for a long haul product, it’s a “non”.

Shared elements