The French aced it!

The Euro-6 T range, from Renault Trucks, has been named International Truck of the Year for 2015! The prestigious award was handed over to Bruno Blin, president of Renault Trucks, during the Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) gala dinner. The event was held on  September 23, the opening press day of the IAA International Motor Show in Hanover, Germany.

Based on the International Truck of the Year (IToY) rules, the annual award is presented to a truck (introduced into the market in the previous 12 months), which has made the greatest contribution to road transport efficiency, based on several important criteria. These include technological innovation, comfort, safety, driveability, fuel economy, environmental “footprint” and total cost of ownership.

Summing up the jury’s vote, IToY chairman Gianenrico Griffini comments: “The new Range T combines the best features found in the successful models from Renault Trucks, together with the advanced functions built into its latest generation of heavy-duty products. The result is one of the most significant new truck launches for many years.”

With a winning score of 129 votes, the new French heavy-duty, long-haul truck model fought off the challenge posed by DAF’s CF heavy distribution range, which collected 81 votes, and Mercedes-Benz’s New Atego medium-duty series, which finished in third place with 49 votes.

Blin comments: “I am delighted to accept this award on behalf of Renault Trucks and would like to share it with all those working in our company and network throughout the world. This award makes us proud, as it will also bring pride to those who purchase our trucks and drive them.”

He adds: “One year ago, Renault Trucks entered a whole new era with the launch of an entirely new range. This award is the best possible way of highlighting the new identity of Renault Trucks. I am certain that recognition of the T range’s qualities by specialised, independent journalists will be a powerful argument for winning over new customers.”

Altogether, the combined truck operator readership of the IToY jury members’ magazines exceeds 900 000 – which includes you, our readers, as FOCUS editor Charleen Clarke is an associate member of the IToY jury.