VISITORS to the Scania stand at the International Truck, Trailer and Equipment Show in Melbourne will see more Scania trucks than ever before.
But the star of Scania's display will undoubtedly be the new R-Series Highline, recently voted this year's International Truck of the Year.
The R-Series had its customer and press preview just last week and Melbourne will be the public's first chance to see it.
The first customer order vehicles will arrive in the next few weeks.
It has only just gone into production in Europe.
Models in the R-Series coming to Melbourne will be the V8-powered R 560, plus the new R 480 and R 400 models featuring Scania's new XPI six-cylinder engines.
All Scania's engines for this year are built to Euro 5 emissions standard.
Both the R 560 and R 480 display models will have the luxury Highline cab, while the R 400 is a sleeper cab.
The new R-Series has revised exterior styling, a revamped interior and a new expandable bunk which offers a maximum width of 900mm.
And to help with driver fatigue, Scania has revamped its Opticruise automated gearchange system, with a new two-pedal system in operation for engines up to 327kW.
The more familiar three-pedal arrangement is also available across the company's range with enhanced control software.
Also making its debut in Australia at this week's International Truck and Trailer Show is the new Scania G-series cab, equipped with the 327kW version of the new Scania XPI EGR engine.
The Scania G-series is designed for distribution, linehaul, construction and specialist applications.
Scania will also show two new examples of its Complete Vehicles Ready Built Program - a Hyva Hooklift and a Curtainsider.
This concept delivers ready-to-work vehicles far more quickly than the traditional method of finding a vehicle and then adding bodywork.
The Hyva Hooklift is fitted to the Scania in Europe, while the Curtainsider body is built in Australia using just-in-time principles, to ensure it is ready for mounting as the Scania arrives in Australia.
Visitors will also be able to find out about Scania's latest fleet management tracking and monitoring system and Master Driver training.
The International Truck of the Year award was presented to Scania last December.
The award is given to the truck model that has made the strongest contribution towards making road transport more efficient during the previous 12 months.
The jury consists of leading commercial vehicle journalists from 22 European countries.
