Trucking news: Malaysia competes in the Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific and World Fuelwatch Championship 2014 + Driving Tips

Press Release

Malaysia competes in the Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific and 

World Fuelwatch Championship 2014

Shah Alam, 2 October 2014 – The winner of Volvo Trucks Malaysia’s Fuelwatch

Challenge 2014, Ahmad Bin Othman of Logistik Petikemas Sdn Bhd, Prai, represented

Malaysia at the Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific and World Fuelwatch Championship 2014

held at home of Volvo in Gothenburg, Australia, on 16 to 19 September recently.

In July, Ahmad Bin Othman (pictured below) defeated close to 800 other Malaysian truckers to clinch

the national top spot when he achieved the lowest fuel consumption recording of just 1

litre for 2.52 kilometres in a 40-kilometre drive challenge pulling a 40-footer, 20-tonne

container with a FM 440 62T cab.

“Prior to taking part in Volvo Trucks’ Fuelwatch Challenge, I knew driving style could

affect fuel consumption and the economy of a business but I never had much opportunity

to learn and train under an expert. I guess as a regular driver, we tend to take things for

granted. I’m glad that the Fuelwatch Challenge has taught me so much and has definitely

made me become more aware of the environmental and economic difference I can

make as a driver. I am proud to have been able to represent Malaysia in an international

driving challenge – it was truly an exciting and memorable experience,” said Ahmad Bin

Othman.


He added, “I would like to thank Volvo Trucks and my employer Logistik Petikemas

Sdn Bhd for giving me this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I look forward to applying

the knowledge about safety and fuel saving driving techniques which I have learned into

my daily job. It was also interesting to be able to meet the winners from other countries

and to exchange tips,” added the 49 year-old driver.

“It is about creating an awareness of how much difference each individual driver can

actually make. Fuelwatch is one way for us to contribute to this. Fuel-efficient driving

is something that all drivers can learn, but it takes time and hard work every day,” said

Mats Nilsson, Managing Director of Volvo Trucks Malaysia.


The regional competition saw participation from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India,

Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Thailand –

where more than 5,800 participants from 12 countries in the Asia Pacific pitted their

driving skills in national competitions over the course of a few months. A total of 14

representatives headed for the Asia Pacific regional final, held in Gothenburg, Sweden,

on September 17.

The 14 drivers competed in two categories, handling the new Volvo FH 6x2 in the on-

road competition, and the Volvo FMX 8x4 in the off-road category. The winner in the

Asia Pacific off-road driving championship was Myeongseong Kim from South Korea.

The winner of the Asia Pacific on-road driving championship was Scott Harvey

from Australia. Both were awarded with a trip to the Volvo Ocean Race Stopover in

Auckland, New Zeland, in March 2015. Together with first runner-up Houliang Liu

from China and second runner-up Tsung-Chen Liu from Taiwan, the three on-road

category drivers joined an elite group of 23 top truck drivers to compete in the Global

Final.


The on-road final was held at Stora Holm, located nearby Gothenburg, the hometown of

Volvo Trucks, in Sweden. The new Volvo FH 6x2 had to be driven over a course of 5.4

km. The off-road competition required the Volvo FMX 8x4 to be driven around a 3.8 km

off-road circuit that was located at the Volvo Demo Center.

Among the five best drivers in the on-road category, APAC champion Scott Harvey

expertly navigated the course, consuming up to 14 percent less fuel than his contestants.

This wide margin underscores how important it is for drivers to be fuel-efficient in their

day-to-day operations.

In the global Fuelwatch Finals, Christian Scheiflinger from Austria took home victory

when he won the title of the “World’s most fuel efficient driver” in the world finals of

the competition.


The Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch Challenge is a competence development effort to raise the

skill level of its drivers, increase fuel efficiency and consciousness to the environment.

During the competition, the drivers are assessed on the basis of their fuel consumption as

well as general vehicle handling, safe driving methods and overall productivity.

Christophe Martin, President of Volvo Trucks in Asia Oceania, said, “A normal-sized

haulage business could spend up to half its operating cost on fuel. Through Fuelwatch,

we want to emphasize that fuel-efficient driving is a technical skill that could be learned,

and mastery in these could have a big positive impact on the environment and our

customers’ bottomlines. Volvo is committed to Fuelwatch as an ongoing platform to

educate and train drivers, and working together with our customers to drive progress for

our industry.”


In Asia Pacific, the Fuelwatch competition was conceived in South Korea in 2007 and

has since grown to become a region-wide event. In 2012, the participant roster stood at

2,500 drivers and this had more than doubled by the 2014 championships.

The number of countries increased too, from eight countries in 2012, to 10 in 2013 and

now 12 countries this year. Hong Kong and Pakistan are participating for the first time in

2014.


Fuel-efficient driving in three steps

1. Adapt to traffic

In fuel-efficient driving, the driver needs to learn to read and adapt to the traffic

situation. One must drive as smoothly and evenly as possible - all the time.

2. Stay ahead

The driver must always be prepared for unexpected events - the car in front can brake or

a bike can emerge from around the next corner. A fuel-efficient driver is a driver who is

attentive and who constantly stays one step ahead of other traffic users.

3. Get to know your truck

To get the maximum out of a truck you have to know it and all its functions as well as

possible. Good knowledge of how your truck works and about what kind of driving is

required in different situations is a huge step towards reducing fuel consumption.