M-B, Renault and Volvo aim to slug it out in UK
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• The new men at the helm of Mercedes, Renault and Volvo have all promised to come out fighting in the UK truck market.
After suffering a disastrous year. with tractor registrations falling by more than 34%, newly appointed Volvo Trucks boss Tommy Svensson says: "We will not have another 1997. We'll continue our restructuring work which is close to being completed and [feel confident that we'll soon be back where we're supposed to be in the British market."
Renault VI UK's new man, Yves Garin, says: "Today we have the means in our hands to be successful and the tools to increase our market share in the UK. It is now up to us to put all this to work." Last year the French truck manufacturer finished in eighth place in the UK market above 3.5 tonnes with volumes down 5% on 1997.
And Mercedes-Benz UK's managing director, Paul Halata, says the German manufacturer's slimmed-down HGV dealer network is now providing a more focused response.
"M-B (UK) is on the move to capture a significantly larger share of the UK truck market," he says. Last year M-B held on to its UK third place above 3.5 tonnes, although its volumes decreased by 14%.