Scania Victoria’s Dandenong Top Team has progressed to the World Finals, having clinched one of the two available spots at the Asia/Oceania Regional Finals in Bangkok held on Saturday 31st January 2026.

The team, comprising Captain Chris Chilver, assisted by Danny Manak, Bede Hutchinson, Frank Jurinec and Kaelan Johnston, were challenged by rival Scania national winners from six other Asian countries, undertaking fault finding and other technical challenges against the clock.

The Dandenong team will travel to Sweden later this year to compete against 11 other regional winners, including a team from China, the second Asian regional winner in Bangkok.

In the Bangkok round, Team Dandenong took on teams from Thailand, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines.

“Reaching the World Finals is a great success for us,” says Manfred Streit, Managing Director of Scania Australia, who watched the competition from the sidelines. “I am immensely proud that our team will be going to Sweden. It is wonderful recognition for our talented team within the Asian region.

“The Dandenong Team put a lot of hard work into honing their skills and improving their knowledge and drew on many decades of experience in order to achieve this result, guided, supported and well-prepared by their coach, Neil Henderson, and the Australian Top Team Coordinator, Jason Grech,” Manfred says.

“Top Team is such is an outstanding competition, unique to Scania, which underlines our people-centric philosophy, valuing those who continually support our customers’ uptime,” he says.

Dandenong Team Captain Chris Chilver has had some previous Top Team experience, narrowly missing out in Bangkok at the previous Regional Finals, but making sure of a berth in the World Finals this time.

“We went into this event a lot more confident and more prepared because we knew what we were dealing with after competing in the 2023 Regionals,” he says.

“We spent a lot of time practicing, focusing primarily on teamwork and communication, which is ultimately what got us over the line. None of it would have been possible without the support of our coaches Neil and Jason.”

“I’m incredibly proud of the team for their outstanding performance in winning a finals berth at the Top Team Regionals in Bangkok,” says Liz Mistretta, Branch Manager at Scania Dandenong.

“Their focus, teamwork, and commitment secured an exceptional achievement that clearly demonstrates the expertise they bring every day in supporting our customers. This reinforces the high standards we uphold as a branch and reflects the premium level of service our customers expect from Scania.”

Scania Victoria Dealer Director Alan Hugo sees the long-term benefit for customers from the peak performance of the Dandenong team.

“In an environment with tough market conditions, where hyper competition is rife, it is essential for our customers to reduce the costs and risks associated with unplanned downtime. With one of the very best teams in the Scania world conducting routine and preventative maintenance and repairs on their vehicles, our customers benefit from the additional peace-of-mind that their vehicles are in the hands of proven experts. Team Dandenong epitomises the Scania philosophy of delivering dependability and reliability, allowing our customers to maximise the profitability of their fleet and operation through unbeatable uptime.”