Leo Barros:  Hi, I’m Leo Barros with Keith here from Volvo. And we’re going to have a little look at the 860 cabin. So, just walk me through the features that we have here in this 680 cab.

Keith Brandis:  We performed the number of driver clinics. And we asked them, “What do you want in your next truck? What is it, that’s a pain point for you today that we can fix?”, and also prepare for what they’re going to need in future years. Bringing the latest technologies, for example, into the displays, adding navigation, adding critical information to the driver, being also able to customize it a little bit in terms of what you wanted to see – which gauges did you want, you can configure that in the dash.

Leo Barros:  I think it was the safety brief, where they say there are different options on how you can sort of control the steering feedback?

Keith Brandis:  So, the Volvo Dynamic Steering is the electric motor that’s added to the steering gear itself. So normally, when you’re going down the road, all of those bumps feed back into the steering column, right? Well, this dampens it. But also, you can have a feature whereby if you’re having a lot of cross winds, instead of having to constantly correct it, the dynamic steering will do that automatically for you. But you always have control the vehicle. If you need to make a, you know, higher or whatever, [not] to miss something, you’ll always be in control of the steering.

Leo Barros: Now, let’s talk about these mirrors. How does this option work?

Keith Brandis:  That’s been on the books for decades now that you have to have side mirrors. But they only require 50 square inches, think about five by 10. All right? So we were able to reduce the size of the mirrors – again, reducing the amount of aerodynamic drag –  which is our number one requirement there, and they still are in place. But now most of the function that the driver will need is done through these camera monitoring systems.

Leo Barros: Right.

Keith Brandis: So now, with the cameras mounted on the outside of the of the truck, up high, you’ve got both the display down the side of the trailer, as well as the convex that you’re looking for. What I think is a real breakthrough is at nighttime, you have no infrared. So, if you have, let’s say, a very dark area that you’re backing into, and it’s not lit well, you’ll be able to see that entirely well. And we put marking on the monitor here, so you know exactly where the back of the trailer is.

Leo Barros:  So you are monitoring all the way, all 72 feet of the tractor and the trailer?

Keith Brandis: Exactly.

Leo Barros: And you have a backup camera on the trailer?

Keith Brandis:  That’s an option, fleets may have that. It now connects in place to the displays. I’m very proud because I’ve been part of this since the very beginning. So, you can hear my passion come through. There are very few chances to make a complete clean sheet approach in our industry. This is my second time that I’ve been part of a new generation, a new breakthrough for Volvo, and we were able to bring not only the platform for today, but also thinking about future power trains –battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell, hydrogen and renewable fuels. The truck has the electrical system, has the functionality to incorporate future power trains as well.