Volkswagen Truck & Bus to Partner With Toyota's Hino Motors -- Second Update
12 Aprile 2018 - 11:29AM
Dow Jones News
By Max Bernhard
Volkswagen AG's (VOW.XE) truck-and-bus unit and Toyota Motor
Corp.'s (TM) Hino Motors Ltd. (7205.TO) plan to explore cooperation
on research and technology in a move to save costs and improve
their market positions.
The strategic cooperation will help Volkswagen expand its share
of the growing Asian truck market, ahead of a potential
billion-dollar IPO of its truck unit. It also marks a tie-up with a
subsidiary of its major competitor Toyota, which Volkswagen
narrowly beat in becoming the world's biggest car maker by sales
last year.
"It is true that there is fierce competition between our parent
companies, but this alliance did not come out of the wishes of our
parent companies," said Yoshio Shimo, chief executive of Hino
Motors.
The cooperation will help Volkswagen Truck & Bus become a
global champion in the transportation industry, said Andreas
Renschler, chief executive of the Volkswagen unit.
Volkswagen Truck & Bus, which includes the MAN and Scania
truck brands, and Tokyo-based Hino Motors plan to review
possibilities for technological cooperation on conventional, hybrid
and electric power, as well as connectivity and autonomous-driving
systems.
The deal will help the two truck makers save money on research
and development at a time when car makers are ramping up
investments in electric vehicles and future technologies such as
automated driving.
"Hino is a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. and this
relationship will not change going forward. But the commercial
vehicle business is facing many issues, it would be difficult to
solve them by staying only in the Toyota group," said Mr.
Shimo.
Mr. Renschler said the technology of both partners could be used
by both sides.
"We only have to spend money once, as opposed to twice or three
times," Mr. Renschler said.
To discuss the long-term direction of the partnership, the
companies have set up a joint "alliance board" that will include
the chief executives of both Volkswagen Truck & Bus and Hino
Motors as well as other senior management personnel.
Mr. Renschler said the board will meet every two months.
"There we push this kind of collaboration, which is our common
target so we can get some speedy results," he said.
--Sean McLain in Tokyo contributed to this article.
Write to Max Bernhard at max.bernhard@dowjones.com;
@mxbernhard
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 12, 2018 05:14 ET (09:14 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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