A common factor in the design of all Scania axle gears is the desire to minimise frictional losses.  Wherever there are meshing teeth, there will be friction; friction wastes fuel.  So over the years, careful refinement in the design of all gears and bearings has been pursued in the drive for greater fuel economy.

However, strength is of fundamental importance for rear axle gears, even for vehicles that never go off-road, always carry light loads and require the least powerful engines. That's because the torque transmitted along the driveline will create high loads of several tonnes that have to be borne by just two meshing teeth.

On the other hand, there's no point in having more strength than you need.  From the point of view of fuel economy and payload, the lighter the axle gear, the better. 

That's why Scania has such a wide range of rear axle gears, each one designed to meet specific operational criteria. There are of course single axles and bogies; some with single reduction, some with the added strength of hub reduction. 

Lightest of all is a single axle with single reduction design across the vehicles with 230 and 270 hp engines, at the other end of the scale is a hub reduction bogie with a design capacity far in excess of 150 tonnes for vehicles engaged in the most demanding heavy-haulage operations. In between these extremes, there is an axle gear to suit every need.

Most Scania single axles have differential locks, and all bogies have both cross-axle and inter-axle locks.  And with every axle, there's a liberal choice of final drive ratios.  So by careful selection of rear axle options, it's possible to optimise your vehicle from every point of view carrying capacity, light weight, brute strength, traction, performance and economy.