As a special vehicle form, low-entry trucks are being used more and more widely in modern cities. The reason behind this is also very simple: modern cities are highly developed, densely populated and congested, making it hard for traditional tall and bulky trucks to fit in. At the same time, crew members have to climb up and down every time they work, which adds up to extra fatigue over time.
Driven by both urban safety and ergonomics, the low-entry truck — this special class of truck — came into being. As the name implies, the most critical trait of a low-entry truck is: low. A low boarding height and low driving position offer excellent visibility and easy entry and exit, making them ideal for urban environments. Recently, IAA Transportation — the world’s largest commercial vehicle show — was held in Hanover, Germany. At this show, Scania brought its latest pure-electric low-entry truck: the 30 L. How is this truck different from regular Scania trucks? Let’s take a look in today’s article!
Exterior: Inheriting NTG Family Genes, Shaping the "Low Posture" Aesthetics of the Low-Entry Design
Following the old routine, we look at the exterior first. The first glance at the Scania 30 L absolutely gives a feeling of "both familiar and unfamiliar". The main reason: as a member of Scania’s NTG generation family, the 30 L continues the iconic exterior design of the NTG generation, but the cab height is greatly reduced, creating a highly distinctive appearance.
The stacked front grille design, "standard" on NTG-generation models, is also present on the Scania 30 L pure-electric low-entry truck. Due to the reduced cab height, the stacked grille has been reduced to just two bars, looking more compact and lean while retaining the family design identity.
The SCANIA lettering is positioned below the front windshield, with waist lights on both sides. Compared with regular-height models such as the R and S series, the internal light sources of the waist lights have been modified on this truck to suit the lower body height and prevent glare to oncoming pedestrians and drivers.
The central grille features a blue trim strip, indicating the ELECTRIC pure-electric powertrain — a signature feature of Scania’s pure-electric trucks
To accommodate the low ground clearance and extra-long front overhang brought by the low-entry cab, the Scania 30 L pure-electric low-entry truck uses a steel bumper. It provides better protection, avoiding bottoming out and scrapes that could damage the cab. It also has good shaping ability, making minor bumps easy to repair. This bumper shares its origins with Scania’s own eXtra Tough reinforcement kit, so its sturdiness is well guaranteed.
Moreover, the headlights have been changed from one-piece to split units, each housing three standard circular lights. Easy to buy, easy to fit, and interchangeable left and right — whichever one breaks, replace just that one. So easy.
Looking upward: this Scania 30 L pure-electric low-entry truck features a sun visor with LED light bar, a common configuration on Scania’s pure-electric trucks. Roof spotlights are mounted on top of the cab, surrounded by black trim panels, which outline the elements and reduce monotony.
Interior: SmartDash Smart Cockpit Backed, a People-Oriented and Practical Space
Compared with regular trucks, the biggest feature of a low-entry truck is its low cab height. The way it is achieved is also simple: the cab is moved forward and lowered as a whole, making boarding easier and the driving position lower. Although the front overhang is long, it avoids engine and other components intruding into the cab, while the boarding steps can also be made wider, helping improve working safety. This iconic structural design has been carried forward into the electrification era.
The Scania 30 L pure-electric low-entry truck is fitted with two levels of wide boarding steps. The steps are metal with hollowed-out and anti-slip protrusions. With the in-cab grab handles, personnel can easily enter the vehicle.
Moreover, some Scania L-series low-entry trucks also support the ECAS electronically controlled air suspension system. With this system, the vehicle can raise its body height while driving, reducing scrapes and bumps. When the doors open, the air suspension can also automatically lower by 20 centimeters, providing a lower ground clearance and further easing entry and exit.
Entering the cab we can see: the 30 L pure-electric low-entry truck uses Scania’s standard interior combination, and the SmartDash intelligent instrument system has also appeared on the truck, keeping pace with the times. The combination of a fully digital instrument cluster plus a large touchscreen multimedia display can be called one of the most tech-feeling low-entry trucks in the interior. The steering wheel remains the classic NTG-generation configuration, with a four-spoke design and multifunction buttons, offering good grip and control convenience.
The fully digital instrument cluster is divided into three areas — left, center and right — each displaying different driving information, switchable via the buttons on the steering wheel
The multimedia display integrates the surround-view camera feeds, which can be viewed individually or composited into a "bird’s-eye" view, making it easier for the driver to maneuver in crowded urban environments
As an electric truck, the electronic parking brake is naturally one of the standard configurations of the Scania 30 L. Combined with the AUTOHOLD automatic parking system, the vehicle can automatically control parking brake application and release, reducing the driver’s operating burden and avoiding accidents such as rollaway caused by forgetting to engage the handbrake.
The small table in front of the passenger seat has been removed, replaced by a storage trough. After all, the low-entry truck’s activity range is mainly limited to the city, and there is basically no scenario of eating in the truck — replacing it with a storage trough is a more practical choice.
Scania L-series models come in both diesel and electric powertrains. To make room for the diesel engine, the interior of the Scania L-series cab features a large engine hump, which has also carried over to the pure-electric version. Storage troughs and trays are placed on top of the engine hump, able to carry some items for use in the vehicle.
The truck photographed on site uses the Scania CL20H cab, where C stands for Cab, L stands for L-series truck, 20 stands for a cab length of 20 decimeters, and H stands for HighLine high roof — the largest cab option available for Scania L-series models. The author is 182cm tall, and in testing, entry into the vehicle was still quite easy.
Electric Powertrain: Central Electric Drive with CATL Battery, a Mature Chassis Renewed with a Pure-Electric Core
At the end of the article, let’s talk about the vehicle’s electric powertrain system. Scania currently does not offer an electric drive axle product, so this 30 L pure-electric low-entry truck still uses Scania’s EM C1-4 central electric drive assembly. This assembly integrates one electric motor and a four-speed gearbox, with a motor power of 300kW, which is why the vehicle is named 30 L.
With the central electric drive system, the vehicle’s axle and other structures can carry over from the diesel truck configuration, with minimal chassis structural changes, lower cost and easier maintenance. The photographed vehicle uses a 6×2 drive configuration, where the second axle is a Scania single-reduction axle and the third axle is a non-powered tag axle, with a combined GVW of 28 tons.
Aluminum wheels are used throughout the vehicle, reducing curb weight while giving a gleaming silver appearance
The rear axle uses air suspension, providing good damping and adjustable body height
In terms of batteries, after the bankruptcy of Swedish company NorthVolt, Scania fully switched to CATL batteries. This 30 L pure-electric low-entry truck uses LFP lithium iron phosphate batteries supplied by CATL, with a single-pack capacity of 178kWh and a total capacity of 356kWh from two packs, giving the vehicle a range of 360 kilometers. The vehicle also supports 375kW DC fast charging, taking only 45 minutes to charge from 10% to 80% SOC. Don’t knock it — the mysterious power of the East really works.
Summary
The debut of the 30 L pure-electric low-entry truck is a high-scoring answer sheet handed in by Scania in the wave of urban logistics electrification. It resolves the contradiction between traditional trucks being "too lofty to reach" and the urban demands of congestion and high-frequency entry and exit. Shedding the rough and massive figure of long-haul heavy trucks, it blends perfectly into the fabric of modern cities with a more approachable low posture, more agile body and an eco-friendly pure-electric core. In the symphony of electrification and urbanization, trucks are no longer the "giants" of urban roads — they can also become efficient and safe "city sprites" weaving through streets and alleys. This year’s Hanover show has been nothing short of brilliant; Tijia will continue to bring you the freshest coverage and deepest technical interpretation! Don’t want to miss more highlights? Keep following the Tijia Commercial Vehicle Network and its European & American Truck Community!
