N01023EN / Per-Erik Nordström

15 May 2001

FMS-initiative from Scania becomes industry standard

In a joint effort, the four major European truck manufacturers Scania, MAN, Mercedes-Benz and Volvo have agreed on a common protocol for vehicle data used by fleet management systems (FMS). Intended as an industry standard, it will facilitate the customers’ use of advanced fleet management systems. The protocol will be ready for the market in 2002, as announced in conjunction with the opening of the Transport Logistic exhibition in Munich today,

“Scania's initiative to use an open architecture (launched in 2000) now becomes the standard solution for the industry,” says Björn Westman, head of On-board Systems Design at Scania.

“The new FMS-standard paves the way for an integrated IT-infrastructure for the road haulage industry. The use of more advanced logistics and communications systems will significantly boost transport efficiency in the years to come.”

The protocol for the common FMS-standard is available to everybody, including other manufacturers of trucks and fleet management products. It is published in a common documentation system on the Internet (www.fms-standard.com).

Data for the fleet management systems is taken from the vehicle’s CAN-bus system and communicated via an interface that uses the standardised protocol. Other data from the CAN-bus remain unique to each manufacturer.

“Thanks to the new FMS-standard, we can provide advanced and flexible IT-systems for haulage and logistics companies – also with a mixed fleet of vehicles,” says Peter Gill­brand, Managing Director of Scania's IT development company Scania Infotronics.

For further information, please contact

·        Per-Erik Nordström, Business Communications – Product Affairs
tel. +46 8 55385577, e-mail per-erik.nordstrom@scania.com

·        Björn Westman, On-board Systems Design
tel. +46 8 55383038, e-mail bjorn.westman@scania.com

Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 26,900 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 2000, turnover totalled SEK 53,800 million and the result after financial items was SEK 4,500 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and some 95 percent of Scania’s vehicles are sold outside Sweden.

Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com

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