Dpa-AFX has conducted an interview with head of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN), Bernd Wiedemann, ahead of the IAA Truck Show in Hannover next week.
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He spoke of growing markets, with goods transport in Germany alone expected to grow 43% between 2002 and 2020, and passenger transport by 20% in the same period.
Wiedemann is looking particularly for further growth from special vehicles such as ambulances and camper vans. VWN saw this business grow to an expected 35,000 units this year, three times higher than in 2003. “And there is further potential for growth,” said Wiedemann.
Wiedemann is also looking for growth from China and India, where there are some decisions still to be made about developing a presence in those markets. The same goes for eastern Europe.
In Brazil, where VWN produces heavy trucks, Wiedemann is expecting exports to be stepped up. At the moment the Brazilian-built trucks are only sold in Latin America.
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By GlobalDataWiedemann will hand over his post to current production chief, Stephan Schaller, on the 1st January 2007. Schaller has contributed to a big improvement in productivity in recent years and all production processes are being dramatically improved.
He did also note, however, that the future of the foundry in Hannover, which has been very much at the centre of recent restructuring talks at Volkswagen, is ‘open’.
