Volkswagen unit, China's Sinotruk expand partnership

Traton Group, a subsidiary of Volkswagen, has agreed to further expand its long-term partnership with the Chinese CNHTC Group.

Since 2009, the German heavy truck maker MAN and Sinotruk have been successfully working together to broaden this cooperation by establishing a joint venture to localise a MAN heavy-duty truck in China in addition to evaluating and intensifying technology and procurement cooperation.

Since the beginning of the partnership, MAN has owned a 25% stake in addition to one share in Sinotruk, one of the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturers in China, Volkswagen revealed in a statement.

“Sinotruk is amongst the strongest players in the Chinese heavy-duty market. The challenges the transportation sector is facing require joint forces and close alliances. Increasing transport volumes, regulation and digitization require change and flexibility,” CEO of Volkswagen’s subsidiary Traton Andreas Renschler, commented.

President of Sinotruk, Cai Dong, said, “The cooperation with MAN has always been highly satisfactory. The technology of MAN has been a key success factor to succeed in the heavy-duty segment.”

Opportunities targeting technology cooperation will be evaluated, Volkswagen said, noting that Among the areas expected to be explored will be powertrains, electrification, autonomous driving as well as buses.

On 17 September, Volkswagen announced that it is pushing forward preparations for its expected initial public offering (IPO) of Traton.

The German leading company clarified that further steps were decided by the Volkswagen Supervisory Board. It added that Traton will now strengthen the team preparing a potential IPO with external experts.

Therefore, investment banks and legal advisors will be mandated in a timely manner.