LONDON: Having apparently shown an interest in aquiring Daewoo’s commercial vehicle plant in Poland and 50 per cent of British van maker LDV, Volkswagen has refused to rule out further acquisitions or co-operative agreements in the European commercial vehicles sector, HB/Dow Jones reports.
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VW’s London-based investor relations executive Alex Hunger refused to comment
when questioned by HB/Dow Jones about a report from the bankrupt Daewoo Motor
Company in South Korea. The report says that VW is looking to acquire further
European commercial vehicle operations.
VW shared the development costs of its current LT large van with DaimlerChrysler’s
Mercedes-Benz brand but builds the range in its own factories, rather than in
joint-venture assembly plants. In the early 1990s VW manufactured some models
from the Toyota Hilux pickup range in Germany in a deal with the Japanese company
which also saw variants –badged as the VW Taro – sold through the
German company’s dealer network.
According to HB/Dow Jones, Mr Hunger did, however, acknowledge that VW intends
to expand in the commercial vehicles sector. "We’re holding our options
open in this department," he said. "It’s an area we’re interested
in."
VW acquired 34 per cent of the voting rights in Swedish truck maker Scania
AB earlier this year. This acquisition gave the company a foothold in the European
heavy vehicle sector.
However, Mr Hunger said that VW may still develop its own operations in both
the heavy and lighter-weight sectors.
