One of the largest UK-based international transport operators, Currie European, has taken delivery of 35 new DAF XF105s.
The Scottish haulier has opted for 14 FTG 460hp tractor units and 21 FTG 510hp trucks as replacements for three-year old DAF CFs on the company's 115-strong fleet.
"We have always run DAF trucks and, over the years, they have proven to be reliable, fuel-efficient and popular vehicles," explains Alister Cook, group operations director at Currie European.
"Our fleet replacement policy means that vehicles are changed or upgraded every three years, and with several key contract wins we've taken the decision this time to renew with the bigger XF."
Currie European specified a mix of Space Cabs and Super Space cabs on its newcomers, in order to reduce road noise during transit.
The 44-tonne FTG mid-lift axle trucks all come fitted with DAF's AS-Tronic automated manual transmission, which Cook believes is helping to deliver further fuel efficiency gains in tandem with both the 460bhp and 510bhp Euro 5 12.9-litre Paccar MX engines.
"Rising fuel costs are a major concern for most transport operators. However, DAFs have always been great at returning optimum revenue per mile," he states.
"For further gains in fuel efficiency we are using Masternaut vehicle telematics software for assessing fuel consumption, excessive idling, vehicle tracking and accurate ETAs," he adds.
One more point: Cook also reckons that XF trucks in his selected configuration and equipment spec are good for residual values.
All Currie European's new DAFs are expected to cover 160,000km per year. They were purchased through Paccar Financial, and supplied by Solway DAF on a full R&M contract.