Yesterday, on the occasion of the first day of the international exhibition of commercial vehicles and heavy goods vehicles (IAA), which is held every two years in the capital of Lower Saxony, saw a beautiful part of the cat and mouse. Despite the interest of the media for the project for the purchase of the Swedish group Scania by the Munich MAN, officials of the major manufacturers were essentially keen not to adjudicate a case essential for the sector.
Anton Weinmann, boss of the domestic trucks MAN, merely to say that his group did not intend to change and especially to withdraw its offer on Scania (for EUR 9.6 billion). In private, he would not comment on the noise that MAN could become in turn the target of a competitor or a financial investor, tempted by a sector that is living its fourth year of consecutive growth, and assessed for 2006 between 7 and 10.
Various reactions
In an interview with the "Süddeutsche Zeitung", the pattern of MAN, Hakan Samuelsson, yesterday handed hand to Volkswagen (VW), first shareholder of Scania with 34 of the voting rights: "We would welcome VW as shareholder", he said, recalling that it had seemed, upstream, receptive to the idea of reconciliation officially launched Monday. Although very courted, Volkswagen gave deaf ear to Hanover and simply recall that his activity is expected to grow by at least 10 this year and was by far the leader in the field to the Brazil.
For its part, Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of DaimlerChrysler, world number one of the vehicles, did not hesitate to affirm that the reconciliation Bill "not change one iota the strategy that we have put in place". ROAR Isaksen, the President of the Swedish Volvo, second European manufacturer, Europe predicted more changes: "the number of manufacturers is likely too high." Should be able to survive those, a size critical, are enough to invest in R & D and are able to be at the forefront of the technology, which is often synonymous with lower costs. ""The next year should not be wrong, despite a slowdown in the market in Europe, the United States and the Japan,"said yesterday at the"Echos"Andreas Renschler, Member of the Executive Board of DaimlerChrysler, in charge of trucks and buses.
Like most of his colleagues, he underestimates not the rise of Asian manufacturers, in particular in China and India. The division of Daimler plans to invest at least EUR 1.5 billion in the next few years in China. It is not impossible that it cooperates closely, even on the capital plan, with the Foton heavy weight Builder, a subsidiary of the public group Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co. All major manufacturers currently focus on a policy of cooperation with Asians, which, in ten years, likely to be able to make much more efficient and competitive products. But, at the IAA, those who are interested more in the vehicles themselves to industrial and geopolitical strategies and the OPA of MAN speak many security, environmental standards strengthened the Union European and new technology allowing substantial cost reductions.
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