Volvo in talks
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by Bryan Jarvis • Mitsubishi and Volvo have begun discussions on co-operative truck ventures across Europe and Asia, but excluding the UK and Japan.
According to a Mitsubishi Corporation spokesman the talks are at an early stage and will cover a wide range of topics. These could include product development, production and distribution. He insists that only heavy models will be covered but rumours of a deal covering a wider range of weights make more business sense.
Mitsubishi builds a full range of trucks up to heavy haulage and large construction vehicles, but is particularly strong in the 6-16tonne range. This includes the latest 3.5-7.0-tonne Canter range which is built in left-hand-drive form in Portugal and sold across Europe (excluding the UK) via the Mitsubishi network of car dealers.
The UK apart, Mitsubishi would profit from accessing Volvo's European distribution network with its lighter models.
Volvo has recently redesigned its FL4 7.5-tonner but focuses mainly on heavier trucks from 12 tonnes gross.
With factories in Australia and Malaysia, and others about to open in Pakistan and India, Volvo would benefit from exploiting Mitsubishi's Asian outlets for its heavies.
Volvo backed out of a full-scale merger with Renault two years ago, insisting that it wanted to remain an independent manufacturer.