At its Innovation Day in Sweden, the TRATON GROUP showcased a broad range of innovations, from new commercial vehicles to new ways of working together. “Innovation,” says CEO Andreas Renschler, “is a state of mind. Innovation means always striving to be better — to offer our customers and their customers added value.”
In his speech, Renschler touched on the multifaceted challenges the commercial vehicle industry faces, including in particular the significant transformation towards alternative drive systems and systems with reduced CO₂ emissions as well as the considerable fast pace at which consumerism and logistics is changing. Renschler: “When we started this journey four years ago, attempts at e-mobility in commercial vehicles were brushed aside as experiments. Today, we are already taking orders for electrically powered trucks and buses and are confident that over the next 10 to 15 years, every third truck and bus we deliver will have alternative drive systems, of which the majority will be purely electric.” But to do that, the appropriate infrastructure is needed, and really on an international scale. [see press release on e-mobility]
Harnessing synergies between the three brands MAN, Scania, and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus collaboratively is key to TRATON’s success. A great deal has been accomplished in just the four years since the Group was established. “Sales and earnings have increased year after year. As of this year, we have been listed on the Frankfurt and Stockholm stock exchanges. And even though we are presented with challenges in the markets, and our industry is highly cyclical, our results so far speak for themselves,” says Renschler.
In his keynote speech, TRATON COO Christian Levin spoke about leveraging the best from the three commercial vehicle brands for the Group. Responsible for research and development, purchasing, strategic product planning, the management of strategic alliances, and the strategic production network, Levin is a driving force of synergies at TRATON: “Group-wide coordinated research and development empowers us to achieve our mission of becoming a Global Champion. A common modular toolbox across all brands allows us to respond even faster, better, and more efficiently to customer needs,” says Levin, who leads the TRATON GROUP’s global operating activities with his team located in Sweden. Levin also emphasized the key role realizing the potential of digital systems plays in this effort. “The proportion of electronics and software experts in our development departments is rising considerably. We intend to invest over a billion euros in digitalization over the next five years.”
Within the TRATON GROUP, the brands’ activities are clearly positioned: Scania is the innovation leader of sustainable transportation solutions and is working on many different alternatives to fossil fuels. As a full-range business partner, MAN is pursuing a broad strategy, offering products from light commercial vehicles to heavy-duty trucks. And VWCO specializes in offering tailored solutions with the best value for money, primarily for the Latin American and African markets.
For TRATON, as was made clear at the Innovation Day, innovation is not just about technical products, but is also more broadly defined as a state of mind. Three key drivers have been identified for innovation: Modularization of components and products, Software and Systems as the byword for networking traditional and new technologies as well as business models, and People and Collaboration to serve as the foundation for collaboration across borders and brands. There was a session dedicated to each of these drivers of innovation, where the three CEOs of the TRATON brands presented successful examples of the collaborative work in the Group. Joachim Drees (MAN) spoke about Modularization, Henrik Henriksson (Scania) about Software and Systems, and Roberto Cortes (Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus), about People and Collaboration.
Please click here to view the full press release.
SOURCE: TRATON
