Frost & Sullivan has recognized Freightliner Trucks with the 2016 U.S. Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Leadership.
Frost & Sullivan says its award is based on its latest survey of U.S. heavy-duty fleet managers, who identified Freightliner as having the most comprehensive and cost-effective mix of advanced technologies. Frost & Sullivan says the DTNA brand lead in both the top weighted mean score (WMS) and loyalty index (LI), and had the highest normalized Product Leadership Index (PLI) score of 10.0. It has far outdone the second and third ranked companies, which have PMIs of 5.7 and 4.7.
“Fleet managers of the largest private and for-hire fleets in U.S. rank Freightliner as the leading original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the area of advanced truck technologies,” says Silpa Paul, Frost & Sullivan senior research analyst. “Freightliner’s RCO optimization strategy is focused on deploying advanced powertrain technology to reduce fuel consumption and cost, safety features to reduce accident propensity, and connectivity/solution-enabled fleet management to improve vehicle uptime.”
Frost & Sullivan says Freightliner’s sustained focus on leveraging advanced technologies for a reduced Real Cost of Ownership (RCO) and uptime maximization, as well as assimilating continuous customer feedback, has helped Freightliner achieve market leadership. It has effectively packaged these advancements in the technology clusters of powertrain, chassis, safety, connectivity, and regulation compliance technologies. This delivers value in the form of a low life cycle cost for fleets and owner/operators, Frost & Sullivan says.
Additionally, as fuel efficiency has become an increasingly important component of RCO, Freightliner’s engineers have responded with next-generation diesel engines and powertrains alongside compressed and liquefied natural gas options. Frost & Sullivan says the company’s proprietary full-scale wind tunnel enables it to design aerodynamic vehicles that deliver the power customers demand while reducing fuel consumption. Although the incorporation of advanced technologies can result in higher upfront investment, fleet managers recognize the long-term savings on operational life cycle costs, the company says.
“Freightliner’s product leadership is further strengthened by accepting feedback from customers regarding product attributes and value design processes,” says Paul. “The company is in constant dialogue with members of its customer council, its dealers and technicians through formal in-person meetings as well as casual communications, in order to be able to incorporate valuable customer feedback in the product design.”
