Advertisement

Scania rules out MAN merger

DDP/The Local
DDP/The Local - [email protected]
Scania rules out MAN merger
Photo: DPA

The CEO of Swedish truck manufacturer Scania has ruled out an alliance with German competitor MAN in order to save billions on the production line, despite rumours of a deal involving Volkswagen.

Advertisement

Scania CEO Leif Östling does not see any scope for major savings in merging with Munich-based truck manufacturer MAN. "It is unrealistic to expect synergy savings of €1 billion or even €500 million in a fusion of MAN and Scania," Östling told Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

Östling saw little opportunity of any industrial benefit from such an alliance. "I expect it would be good business for investment bankers, who always earn a lot from billion-euro deals," he said.

Rumours have been circulating in the auto industry that Volkswagen boss Ferdinand Piëch is preparing an alliance of the two companies, and to bring the two companies into the VW fold. VW holds 70 percent of voting rights in Scania and 29.9 percent at MAN. MAN also owns 17 percent of Scania's voting rights.

Östling is sceptical that the so-called "synergy effect", which has seen car manufacturers make savings by developing common industry platforms, would achieve similar results in the truck industry. The diversity of specifications in the truck industry is greater, he claimed.

"For many years we tried to cooperate with MAN in developing transmission and axles," Östling said, "At the end of the day we got nowhere. It simply wasn't worth it financially."

The truck industry is currently struggling through a major crisis, though Östling is confident that it will recover eventually. "The market for commercial utility vehicles will only reach new records between 2015 and 2020," he said.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also