Heavy Duty Trucking, June 2018

HDT JUNE 2018 22 WWW TRUCKINGINFO COM AROUND THE WORLD Volkswagen position on Navistar takeover clarified in SEC filing Volkswagen AG cooled expectations that its angling to take over Navistar International in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission However in the same statement the Germany based OEM left the door open for its Volkswagen Truck Bus GMbH subsidiary to possibly acquire Navistar at some later date The SEC form signed by VW Truck Bus CEO Andreas Renschler was filed on April 18 just two days after media reports out of Germany suggested that Volkswagen Truck Bus was open to taking over Navistar International Corp VW currently holds a 169 share in the U S company through a wide ranging strategic alliance announced in 2016 On April 16 2018 stated VWs SEC filing various news sources interpreted remarks during a question and answer session by representatives of VW T B in such a way that an acquisition of U S based Navistar by the German firm seemed to be under consideration VW T B is not the statement continued reporting any changes to its plans or proposals for Navistar although as previously disclosed VW T B continuously reviews its investment and may in the future determine to undertake various actions in connection with its investment including the possible acquisition of Navistar Andreas von Wallfeld has been appointed head of marketing sales and services for Germany based Daimler AGs Mercedes Benz Trucks unit He succeeds Till Oberwörder who has been named head of Daimler Buses Von Wallfeld has been a member of the management board of the Mercedes Benz Sales and Marketing organization Cummins and China based JAC Motors announced a 50 50 joint venture partnership after Cummins bought Navistars 50 equity position in the JAC Navistar Diesel Engine Company The partnership will continue its operations at the JAC manufacturing facility in Hefei China Cummins currently supplies diesel engines to JAC Motors in the Chinese market The joint venture will continue offering customers diesel engines and focus on developing new products that meet upcoming Chinese emissions standards Swedens Volvo Trucks announced its second all electric commercial truck Introduced just weeks after the FL Electric the FE Electric is designed for heavier city distribution and refuse hauling applications Sales of the new models will start in Europe next year Both trucks will boast a range of up to 124 miles and will feature a powertrain consisting of two electric motors with 370 kW max power 260 kW cont power mated to a Volvo 2 speed transmission with energy storage provided by 200 300 kWh lithium ion batteries Hotlineglobal TRUCKINGS WORLDWIDE BUSINESS REPORT On April 16 HDT contacted VW T B for comment on whether or not the subsidiary was considering a full takeover of Navistar In response Julia Kroeber Riel head of group communications and governmental relations for Volkswagen Truck Bus told HDT that On our way to becoming Global Champion we keep all options open The overseas reporting of April 16 also said VW T B CFO Matthias Gruendler had indicated that U S law would require VW to issue a formal takeover bid for Navistar if it increases its stake above 17 VW also sought to clarify that in its SEC filing It was reported that a representative of VW T B had stated that increases by VW T B in its level of ownership of Navistar above current levels would not be possible without VW T B being required by Delaware law to make an offer to acquire all of the remaining outstanding shares of common stock not owned by it VW T B hereby corrects such statement by noting that neither U S securities law nor Delaware law includes such a requirement When the alliance was announced in 2016 VWs Renschler when asked about a potential acquisition described the deal as a starting point for us its a perfect entry and in a couple of years we can see All our options are open David Cullen VW Truck Bus CEO Andreas Renschler