Innovative Competition to Design Truck of the Future Open to All

UK – For the big kid in us all, Volvo Trucks has announced a very special design competition to attract budding truck designers and engineers of the future of road transport to help celebrate the historic landmark of the 200,000th Volvo truck to be registered in the UK since the company began trading in the country in 1967. This challenging design competition, called Volvo Trucks: Truck of the Future 2050, is open to individuals of all ages and from all walks of life, with entries especially welcomed from drivers, operators and truck enthusiasts.

What will the truck of the future look like? That will of course depend on the future demands of society. The haulage industry responds to the needs of society and the infrastructure available to move goods and materials around. The Volvo Trucks: Truck of the Future 2050 design competition offers the opportunity for anyone, whatever their age or background, to have some fun trying to predict what the truck of thirty-six years from now will look like and how truck design may have to respond to the infrastructure of the future. Anyone can enter and send in creative designs that they think will address the question of how trucks could be used in society in the year 2050.

There are three age related entry classes: a) Up to 11 years old, b) 11 to 18 years and c) over 18, but there will be only one winner per category. The individual winners will go on a once-in-a-lifetime visit to meet the Volvo Trucks Design Team in Gothenburg, Sweden, where they will see their entries displayed in the Design Studio. Volvo Trucks Managing Director Arne Knaben said:

“The winning designs will demonstrate creative thinking that will help the Volvo truck driver and operator more than three decades from now, work productively, economically and safely with all other road users. We are very, very keen to encourage children, young adults and students to take part in what will be a fun competition.

“There is no doubt that truck designers over thirty years from now will quite possibly need to take account of many changes in how we transport goods by road. It could be that these will be driven by changes in the way we live, possibly as a result of climate change, for example.

“All we know now, is that, in common with the world today, the Volvo truck designers of the future will need to design vehicles that respond to society and infrastructure demands in the best way they can. It’s an exciting challenge for entrants to the Volvo Trucks: Truck of the Future 2050 design competition and we are really looking forward to seeing some fantastic, creative and bold designs and meeting the winners.”

Closing date is Friday, 3rd October 2014. In addition to design visuals, each entry must also include a brief explanation of the thinking behind its features. The designs must be for a long-haul or regional distribution truck, configured for the UK road transport industry, as they see it might be, in thirty-six years’ time. All entries must include sketches of the cab interior as well as the vehicle’s exterior. The winners will be announced by October 10, 2014 and there will be a UK-based prize giving ceremony, the date of which is to be confirmed. It is planned that the winners will visit Gothenburg during the week beginning December 15, 2014.

The rules for entering the Volvo Trucks: Truck of the Future 2050 design competition can be found by clicking HERE or visiting the Volvo Trucks UK Facebook page. To submit your entry to Truck of the Future 2050 competition, please either post to Design Competition, Volvo Trucks, Wedgnock Lane, Warwick CV34 5YA or email marketinguk@volvo.com with your attachment.

Prizes are in two parts. The three individual winners, plus a parent or guardian for the children and young student categories, will be invited, as guests of Volvo Trucks to take part in a prize-giving presentation in the UK. This will take place in the autumn. Each of the three category winners, accompanied by a parent or guardian (if under 18), will then be taken on the trip of a lifetime visit to meet the Volvo Trucks Design Team in Gothenburg.

As Volvo Trucks has been a major employer, as well as an active supporter and provider of training for young people for a career in the truck manufacturing industry since 1928, the company is also inviting individual entries from students at schools, colleges and universities to submit their designs for this unique and exciting competition.