Commentary: VW Does More Than You Think
Rolf Lockwood
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Rolf Lockwood
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Now that the initial brouhaha has died down after the news broke of the Volkswagen Truck & Bus investment in Navistar last month, there is probably one big question that still needs an answer in a lot of North American minds:
Like, who the heck is Volkswagen?
Well of course, folks will say, that’s the German outfit that makes Beetles and Rabbits and designs a flowerpot into the dash? Sure is, but it’s a lot more than that. In fact its list of shareholdings is 19 pages long.
On the car side, Volkswagen AG also owns Audi and Porsche. Lots of people will know that much, but did you know that it also owns England’s Bentley brand? And Italy’s Bugatti and Lamborghini. And the Czech Republic’s Skoda. And Spain’s Seat. All of them are VWs in a way.
Even the famous Italian motorcycle brand Ducati is in the stable.
Many people will be surprised to know that it also makes VW-branded medium- and heavy-duty trucks, sold outside Europe but in some 35 countries, from a base in Brazil (more on that in a bit). That company is Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus Ltda. But VW also owns Sweden’s Scania and Germany’s MAN, and the latter will be especially important in helping Navistar move forward on these shores.
All told, Volkswagen Truck & Bus (spun off from the mother company last year) produces trucks at 25 sites in 17 countries.
Both MAN and Scania produce their own engines. Scania also makes transmissions, its Opticruise automated manual being well regarded. The Swedish outfit’s 16.4-liter V-8, making as much as 730 hp, was available two years before the date called for by the Euro 6 emissions mandate.
MAN also makes engines, and in fact Navistar’s own 13-liter diesel is the result of technology sharing with the German firm. …Read the rest of this story
