The two truck brands of the VW Group are to work more closely together in the future.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The parent company Volkswagen changed the management of the truck manufacturer Traton (Scania, MAN) at short notice. CEO Matthias Gründler had to leave, as did CFO Christian Schulz, because the renovation was going too slowly.
Less than 30 hours after the announcement, Christian Levin now has his first day of work as CEO. The commercial vehicle expert has been with Scania for 27 years, most recently as head.
Levin is now to bring together the individual brands of the second largest truck manufacturer after Daimler and reduce costs. Power is shifting from MAN headquarters in Munich to Södertälje in Sweden, where Scania is based. MAN should also orient itself more closely to the production model of the Scandinavians, who generate the highest profits in the industry with their modular system.
Overall, the new boss wants to make Traton leaner and more cost-effective. This is necessary in order to finance the switch from combustion to electric drives.
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Levin also needs money for international expansion. The focus is on China, where Traton is currently building a plant. The presence in the world’s largest market for commercial vehicles is important in order to take Daimler’s crown as world market leader.
Read the entire interview here:
With a bang, the tip of Traton was replaced. How suddenly did the calling come for you?
It was surprising to myself. I feel that the appointment is a great appreciation for my work and also for the work that is done at Scania. My predecessor Matthias Gründler did a very good job that I will now be able to build on.
What will your division of labor look like now? You will remain head of Scania.
I told my family that I had to work more accordingly. I work 100 percent for Scania and 50 percent for Traton. Over time, this will work out well. I don’t have to do everything alone, I can rely on strong teams at Scania and Traton.
The new boss of the truck manufacturer Traton wants to make production more efficient.
Are you going to move to Munich?
Traton has two offices, one in Munich and one in Sweden. My plan is to be in Germany every two weeks. But my residence remains in Södertälje. We will now see how we will redistribute the functions in the holding company.
So is there more going to Sweden?
There is no decision on that. We are now working together on the strategy that we will communicate at the end of the year.
“We are not yet working together optimally”
Traton recently expanded into the USA with the acquisition of the US manufacturer Navistar. How will things go on with you as CEO?
We have the right strategy, which I worked on and which we will continue to implement step by step. The brands have been given more leeway under the umbrella of the holding company and we are shifting the focus in Asia from Japan to China. I now want us to become leaner, more efficient and faster.
You need money to invest in the planned electrification of your models. But what does that mean in concrete terms?
We are not yet working together optimally – it has to get better. The individual brands must have their freedom, but we need a group-wide set of common components that are consistently used by everyone. That makes us faster in development and also more cost-efficient. We have been working very successfully at Scania for a long time, and now we have to do that as a group.
Scania is the role model?
In contrast to cars, no two trucks are the same, as customers each have different requirements. Almost every vehicle is unique. Nevertheless, you can create economies of scale with an intelligent construction kit. At Scania, we recognized this in the 1940s and are therefore developing components that can be combined in almost any way. It works according to the “Lego principle”.
And that should now be transferred to MAN?
In relation to the group, we will adapt this principle. We develop components that are then used throughout Traton. And we have to do it more consistently and faster than before. This also works if you serve both the volume market and the upper price segment.
“Every company should keep its own culture”
But can the high-price brand Scania be imposed on the high-volume manufacturer MAN in the end?
That is of course not the goal. Every company has its own culture and it should keep it. We need a strong MAN. The reason why the collaboration is not going as planned is also due to Scania. We have a culture that has always been skeptical about cooperation. That must and will change.
Traton has gone global with Navistar. However, China is a largely undeveloped area so far. How are you going to change that?
That’s not true. Scania has been there for a long time. And after Tesla, we are the first foreign company from China to have approval to build and sell vehicles there. We are currently building a new plant in China.
Only Scania commercial vehicles will then be produced there?
The market for high-performance trucks is growing rapidly in China, which plays into our cards. So far, we have not made a decision as to whether any other brand besides Scania will also be produced in China.
Mr. Levin, thank you very much for the interview.
More: Top managers have to leave: Chaos days at VW subsidiary Traton