TRATON remains on growth path in the first nine months of 2018

Munich, October 18, 2018 – TRATON AG achieved a significant increase in deliveries of commercial vehicle in the first three quarters of 2018*. Between January and September, the Group delivered some 15% more vehicles than in the prior-year period. In total, this amounted to 166,330 vehicles of the MAN Truck & Bus, Scania and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus brands. “Our entire team did a good job in the first nine months,“ says Andreas Renschler, CEO of TRATON AG and member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG. “However, the very strong sales performance of the first half of the year tapered off slightly in the third quarter.”

All three brands contributed to this development. The number of vehicles handed over to customers by MAN Truck & Bus rose by 15%, to 72,040. Scania’s deliveries of trucks and busses rose to 68,640 vehicles, around 7% more than in the previous year. Driven by the economic upswing in Brazil, demand for Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus vehicles improved significantly, by some 43%, to 27,360 units. In total, TRATON delivered 145,070 trucks (+12%) and 16,390 buses (+22%).

Growth in truck market across almost all regions

The persistently positive economic performance in the most important markets around the world provided tailwinds for the business in the first nine months.

With a market share of some 31% in the first nine months of 2018, TRATON remains the leader in the truck market of the EU28+2 region (EU, Norway, Switzerland). Benefiting from the continuing good performance of the European commercial vehicle market, the Group delivered 83,030 trucks, an increase of around 9% compared with the previous year.

In South America, the brands sold 29,630 trucks, thus boosting their vehicle deliveries by some 40% compared with the very poor prior-year period. Growth benefited in particular from increased demand in Brazil, following that country’s continuing economic recovery. TRATON remains the clear market leader in the Brazilian truck market, accounting for around 40%.

As a result of the sustained recovery of the Russian economy, the number of vehicles handed over to customers in Russia increased significantly, by some 17%, to 8,000 units.

In the Asia/Pacific region, the number of vehicles delivered declined by around 6% year-on-year, to 10,530 trucks, driven by factors such as weaker demand in China.

In Africa, the number of deliveries was stable at the previous year’s level, at 5,320 trucks.

In the Middle East region, deliveries were down by around 10% to 5,220 trucks.

Smart partnerships boost regional presence and digitization

In addition, TRATON expanded its presence in Asia by entering into partnerships: An agreement was made with Sinotruk for the establishment of a joint venture to develop a heavy MAN truck for the Chinese market. And with the Japanese Hino Motors, TRATON will cooperate in the two fields of procurement and e-mobility in future. Moreover, TRATON has entered into another partnership with the US software specialist Solera for the development of joint solutions, such as fleet management, driver services and digital sales solutions. “Digital services are among the growth drivers of the future,” says Andreas Renschler. “We are already in a strong position in the digital environment and will follow this path consistently – using our own resources as well with as our partners.”

Innovative solutions and projects centered on alternative drives and digital solutions also shaped our other activities in the past quarter.

MAN launches lighthouse project for autonomous driving

At the IAA, MAN was one of the first producers to present fully electric solutions for the entire range of city logistics at weights of between three and 26 tons. Highlight: the MAN CitE, an electric-powered truck. This 15-ton vehicle for in-city distribution transport was developed in a record time of 18 months. And the first electric truck from MAN, the eTGM, is already on the road, with nine different customers subjecting vehicles to stringent testing. MAN has also added CNG and electric variants to its city bus family.

An autonomous driving project was launched at the beginning of October: MAN Truck & Bus and Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG are jointly testing trucks, which will drive fully autonomously on the A7 motorway and will be loaded and unloaded automatically in the port. Testing is planned to start as early as the beginning of 2019 at MAN in Munich and on the A7 motorway from the middle of 2020.

Scania forges ahead with alternative drive systems – successful platooning project with MAN

At the IAA in Hanover, Scania presented a digital solution in which the route planner takes account of zones with driving restrictions – for example areas subject to special emissions, noise, or speed restrictions.

At the trade fair, the Company exclusively showcased vehicles with powertrains designed for renewable fuels and alternative solutions – including the world’s first bus with an LNG (liquified natural gas) drive, a plug-in hybrid truck and an all-electric city bus. 

The close cooperation among the TRATON brands continues to bear fruit: In Hanover, Scania and MAN unveiled the results of their joint development of a dual-brand platoon – i.e. a convoy consisting of vehicles of different brands. Platooning reduces fuel consumption and CO2 emissions – while significantly improving safety. Platooning is generally also billed as the first stage of autonomous driving. 

Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus electrifies Brazil

Last quarter, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus reported an agreement of purchase intention for the world’s hitherto largest delivery of e-trucks. The company is to supply a total of 1,600 e-trucks by 2023 to the fleet serving to Ambev Brewery. As a result, around 35% of this fleet will run emissions-free, thus saving more than 30,000 tons of CO2 a year. The first truck to be part of this fleet is the VW e-Delivery, which will hit the roads later this year, entering the first test phase. It is the first 100% electric light truck in Latin America.

RIO expands on the back of new services and partners

As an open, cloud-based logistics ecosystem, RIO provides vendor-independent digital services for the global supply chain, and its base is set for significant future expansion: After MAN, VW Caminhões e Ônibus will in 2019 also start using the RIO box as standard equipment in new trucks to exchange data between trucks and the cloud. As an open ecosystem, RIO continually integrates new partners – including, most recently, MAN DigitalServices and offerings from VDO and Wabco. In total, RIO is used by more than 2,700 fleet operators, and 450,000 TRATON GROUP vehicles are already part of a global network.