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VW looks for truck partner

9th July 1998, Page 14
9th July 1998
Page 14
Page 14, 9th July 1998 — VW looks for truck partner
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by Toby Clark • A Volvo senior management team has met with Volkswagen boss Ferdinand Piech, fuelling rumours that the German car giant is keen to take over Volvo Truck Corporation.

VW has already declared an interest in the medium and heavy truck sectors; possible partners include Volvo, Scania, RVI and MAN (with which VW has previously had a marketing agreement).

The move into trucks is a logical development of Volkswagen's diversification pro. gramme. It would be easier to enter the market with an exist. ing range than to start from scratch: in a similar move VW has bought Rolls-Royce Cars and the Cosworth engine development firm from Vickers.

VW recently separated its CV operation from the car division, putting it on the same footing as other group brands such as Audi and Skoda.

The UK division of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles is led by Peter Wyhinny, who confirms that the company is keen to strengthen the brand: "It would make sense to offer a complete range of vehicles," he says. "Our offering finishes at 4.6 tonnes, so we would look for a partner who could take the range from there."

VW is likely to establish a much more independent identity for its commercial vehicle arm, with specialist CV-only dealer branches.

Volkswagen already builds trucks in South America, making vehicles up to 16.5 tonnes GVW with the old LT cab (as fitted to MAN's erstwhile G90 range) and a Cummins/Eaton/ Mentor driveline. The company has also attempted to sell its Brazilian.made L80 range of 7.5-tonners in Germany, albeit with little success.

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