Our products are still incredibly important,
but the presence of the company name - the brand - is vital
so the customers feel an unwavering faith in Volvo Trucks
and want to remain customers long-term.
Volvo is a premium brand,
and premium products on the market may cost more than competing brands.
So, we need to keep developing the platform created by the FH,
with respect to doing business, to customer care
and to new technology.
One interesting thing is the FH ethos
which runs from the first FH model made in 1993
to the current model from 2012.
We've stayed with certain fundamental characteristics of these trucks.
Performance, for example, is a key feature, as is driver comfort
and safety, which is something we would never risk compromising.
We were the first to have airbags.
Being there to witness that first full-scale crash test,
with a dummy and everything, and seeing it all work perfectly...
It was amazing!
Today, airbags appearing at the right moment doesn't impress people,
but we were actually pioneers at the time.
It was a huge vehicle with a totally different behaviour to a small car.
I have an optimistic view of the future.
Looking at innovative ability,
research shows that a company
which has traditionally been very innovative, as we have,
with everything from safety belts to Volvo Dynamic Steering and a lot more,
has an excellent base for future innovations.
And we will need to be innovative in the future, too,
in many different areas.
That scope must be created inhouse
and in co-operation with external parties.
In my current position, I still have to convince drivers to wear seatbelts.
Fancy something so simple being so hard!
It's a way to protect oneself. Of surviving.
You must never, ever compromise either quality or core values.
Balancing cost and time with core values...
Reaching that balance, that's the difficulty.
Haulage contractors today are under a lot of pressure from their customers,
and operate on tight margins with an element of uncertainty.
This means that trying new technology feels risky.
In view of that, we feel that our new LNG engines
present a way of minimising this risk.
This is something that can help them make a profit for years to come.
The main strengths of Volvo Trucks remain the same.
Our excellent products, naturally,
which need to look good and work well for the customer.
But the people we work with,
from our engine developers
to the people in the workshops who serve our customers...
That's our mega-strength.
When I travel around, meeting people...
I get the greatest energy boost from the people in this organisation.
I hope this company lives on in the same spirit in the future:
Leading developments in the field
and continuing to fill customers and employees with a sense of pride,
and showing that Volvo is the company that excels at transportation.