Leyland and Scania in Finnish deal
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BRITISH LEYLAND has sold two-fifths of its 20 per cent interest in Sisu, Finland's leading commercial vehicle and bus builder, to Scania.
This means that with a reorganisation of State and local Interest holdings both foreign shareholders now have equal 12 per cent minority holdings in the State-controlled company.
The deal, announced last week at the Helsinki Transport Show and signed on Monday in the presence of the Finnish Minister of Transport, gives Sisu new export opportunities through the existing Leyland and Scania organisations. It also, of course, strengthens Scania's hold on the Finnish truck market—already its biggest European export outlet.
Acquisition by the Swedish firm of an interest in Sisu will ultimately reduce Leyland's sphere of influence in Finnish cv production. Many British engines and components are at present used in Sisu trucks but the new deal foreshadows also a closer approach by Sisu to Scania engineering know-how.
Sisu was founded in 1931 and now has more than 1,800 employees turning out approximately 20 per cent of all trucks for domestic requirements in the 12 tonnes gvw plus sector.
Above: New coach styling by Delta plan, one of Finland's leading psv Commercial vehicle and trailer exhibits from 10 countries made an impressive contribution to the Helsinki transport exhibition.
builders, was revealed on this Scania-based 45-seater
Although airline, railway and shipping exhibits complemented the spirit of the show it was made abundantly clear that road transport is a major factor in the economic life of Finland. With a population of less than 5m dispersed over an area larger than Italy
Right : in an adaptation of a Volvo F86 chassis for swop-body operations the modified rear suspension uses Italian-made Saga Die press air bellows.
much of the function of supplying homes, shops and industry falls to the country's 130,000 goods vehicles while the very high per capita rate of buses (totalling 8,600 early this year) reflects the dependence of many isolated communities on public services.
Finnish construction and use regulations were recently eased to allow drawbar trailer combinations up to 22m (72ft 2in) long at gross train weights of 42 tonnes and this has enabled many hauliers to rationalise operations.
Show exhibits built to take advantage of the new maxima included prime movers from a number of European manufacturers, notably Scania, in addition to locally built Sisu trucks. Unusual equipment for use in tipper operation included a design for nesting bodies which allows the payload carried on a trailer to be tipped by the towing vehicle. British names, many of them firmly established in Finland, included Bedford, Ford and Leyland. Chrysler Commer Commando chassis, marketed under the Fargo badge, were shown with Finnish-made Valmet power units.