The next piece in Andreas Renschlers plans for Volkswagen’s truck assets has been moved into place with the announcement that the Truck and Bus division will be renamed, Traton.
The name change at Volkswagen Truck & Bus will take effect over the next two months the company said.
VW’s Truck & Bus CEO Andreas Renschler said the new brand name will give the group a new separate identity from parent Volkswagen Group.
“It will increase our attractiveness for new talents as well as for capital markets,” Renschler said in a statement on last week.
“Traton provides us with more independence. It will further strengthen our Group’s joint identity and uniqueness,” said Renschler.
“The new name will also foster our visibility as the leading Group for innovative transportation solutions. It will increase our attractiveness for new talents as well as for capital markets,” he added.
The Group CEO went on to say that the new branding is milestone on the organisation’s way to increase independence even further toward capital market readiness.“The new name is also a major milestone on our road to becoming a global champion of the transportation industry,” Renschler said.
“Since our foundation, we have grown together faster than expected and Traton provides us with more independence and will further strengthen our Group’s joint identity and uniqueness and will also foster our visibility as the leading Group for innovative transportation solutions,” he added.Renschler said Traton reflects the Group’s DNA and what the company is striving for and how it is acting and stands for a young company designed for and born in a new era of transportation:
VW in the announcement listed some of the elements that created the new name
Including
• TRAnsformation of the ecosystem transport is our mission – for everyone´s • TRAnsportation is our and our customer’s passion.
• TONnage is what our customers are moving around the world, every day.
• TRAdition of our strong brands is what is grounding us.
and • Always “ON” is the ultimate goal of our customers and our attitude in order to make everything possible for them.
Traton goes along with our joint values: determination, integrity, respect, customer focus and team spirit. The strong, traditional brands MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus and RIO will retain their own identities under the umbrella brand of Traton Group.
The VW statement said that the transportation sector is facing major changes due to increasing transportation volumes, higher emission standards and customer demand for efficient, sustainable and competitive solutions.
“Traton combines the agility and spirit of a start-up with the extensive experience of traditional brands. With this unique set-up, the Group is perfectly positioned to re-invent transportation for future generations,” the statement said.
“The Supervisory Board fully supports the ambitious plans of Volkswagen Truck & Busand the Group’s move towards a unique identity and this will reinforce our truck business on their way to capital market readiness,” said Hans-Dieter Pötsch, head of Volkswagen AG’s and Volkswagen Truck & Bus’ Supervisory Boards.
The organisation is in the midst of integrating the MAN and Scania divisions and has of taken a 17 per cent stake in U.S. truckmaker Navistar and has said it wants to increase its position in that company as it makes a play to challenge rivals Daimler and Volvo for global truck and bus superiority.
Last week the company appointed mergers and acquisitions specialist Christian Schulz as its new finance chief and converted itself into a stock corporation, making it easier for VW to issue shares.
Volkswagen has said it is considering a listing or partial listing of the truck and bus division, but that this would likely happen in 2019.
VW has also announced it is exploring a coimmercial vehicle alliance Ford Motor Co.
