Svempa, registered at birth as Sven-Erik Bergendahl, died on 28 April 2026 at the age of 87. For the few people in the industrial vehicle world who did not know him, he was a legend in truck customisation and, being Swedish, he worked on Scania vehicles. His trucks were one-off pieces that never pulled a semi-trailer, but spent decades touring truck events across Europe. Scania president and CEO Christian Levin remembered him in a post on LinkedIn, saying that “for more than fifty years, Svempa helped shape the way Scania is perceived as a brand through his unique bespoke trucks, admired all over the world. His reputation was truly global, with one of the largest fan bases in the truck community”. Svempa was also celebrated in many drivers’ groups on social media.
Born in Sweden in 1939, Svempa began his professional career in the mid-1960s as a roadside recovery operator in Stockholm, but soon, during the same decade, began his first experiments in vehicle customisation with a station wagon converted into a tow truck. The first known truck he modified was a used Scania L76, which Svempa converted into a towing vehicle and then progressively customised, effectively marking the start of his very close relationship with the Griffin marque, which lasted until his death.
In the 1970s, Svempa began customising trucks systematically, moving from purely functional work to show vehicles with complex liveries, chrome detailing, bespoke interiors and radical modifications. His name first became known in Scandinavian competitions and rallies, and he is now remembered as the first winner of the Nordic Trophy with a former military Scania Sbat111 converted for civilian use, a project that attracted the attention of Scania’s own senior management. In the following years, he built more than 600 exclusive or limited-edition trucks “by Svempa”, becoming a reference point for both the European truck scene and Scania’s image among fans.
His relationship with Scania grew increasingly close and, in addition to show prototypes, Svempa created several limited-edition vehicles for the Swedish manufacturer, mainly with V8 engines, including the recent Frost Edition and Fire Edition. In 2021, Scania acquired the rights to the Svempas brand, retaining Bergendahl’s nickname and integrating it into its own portfolio of special series. Throughout this period, the roadside recovery company continued to operate as an independent business. On Svempa’s 80th birthday, Scania celebrated him as a “legendary Swedish custom builder” and recalled the workshop south of Stockholm from which some of the most spectacular trucks emerged.
Svempa’s best-known prototypes include the convertible “Red Pearl”, the “Shark” and the “Chimera”, the latter fitted with a 1,460 hp engine. Another icon is the “Blue Griffin” Longline, later used by Scania itself as a promotional vehicle. In the 2010s, Svempa created commemorative projects linked to the V8 engine and major Scania anniversaries, culminating in the Frostfire, a show vehicle developed over about two years with more than 1,200 hours of work and 150 litres of paint in seven shades, which Svempa himself described as his last creation entirely “made by him”.
