Cost Reductions in the Transportation Industry: Greater Efficiency with Continental Technologies

Since December 1, 2023, the German government has increased the truck toll for vehicles weighing 7.5 metric tons or more by introducing an additional charge known as the “CO₂ toll.” This will almost double the toll costs per kilometer compared with the previous level. The goal of this “price signal” is to create a financial incentive for carriers to accelerate the transition to trucks with alternative drive systems (source: German government).

The transition is proving to be a challenge since currently, at the end of 2023, the supply of vehicles required for the upcoming transformation is limited. Faced with this situation, a difficult one for the entire transportation industry, it is all the more essential that other cost factors are optimized and efficiency increased. There are two possible approaches to this. The first involves products for the vehicle itself from key suppliers such as Continental, which can reduce fuel consumption and thereby lower costs. Secondly, there is a great deal of savings potential in data flows and processes within the industry. Continental also offers solutions here. The Hanover-based company is helping the transportation sector to economically fulfill its social responsibility and usher in a lower-emissions future.

This continued with the modular MTCO tachograph in 1999. Since 2006, all new vehicles subject to tachograph regulations must be equipped with a digital tachograph. From the DTCO 1.4 model onward, the devices even record driving and rest periods in high resolution to meet the “one-minute rule.” An entire ecosystem of telematics solutions has developed around the DTCO.

This trend recently reached a new peak with the DTCO 4.1, which has been available since June 2023. Continental also plans to launch a tachograph-based toll collection system jointly with toll service provider Axxès in 2024. Together with the plug-in VDO Link and the components already installed in the vehicle, this will give rise to connected onboard equipment (OBE). This DTCO function will render unnecessary the large number of existing onboard units (OBUs), which currently ensure that tolls are paid correctly for transportation across European borders.

Continental's commitment extends beyond the vehicle to the entire industry. Its software-based services, for example, allow carriers to improve the efficiency of their processes. Several hundred thousands of vehicles are recorded in systems featuring Continental solutions. The benefits include the following:

VDO Fleet Tachograph Management, which enables the archiving of tachograph data and creation of the corresponding reports. These reports also provide transparency with regard to the causes of inadvertent compliance violations (such as input errors). This is decisive for carriers when preparing for potential operational audits in order to implement countermeasures (e.g. training) aimed at avoiding fines or consequences that can even lead to the withdrawal of licenses. Compliance is in fact a greatly underestimated success factor. VDO Fleet live grants the carrier direct access to a vehicle’s current situation with the aim of analyzing efficiency and even optimizing truck tours that are already in progress through the use of live data.