Friday, June 3, 2011

TRUCKMAKERS NEWS WORLDWIDE * Italy - Renault Trucks eyes Fiat's Iveco Daily

The Italian press has speculated Fiat may sell Fiat Industrial to help it fund its acquisition of U.S. carmaker Chrysler...  

Milan,TOR,Italy -Reuters -Jun 3, 2011:  --  Renault Trucks would be interested in light commercial vehicle brand Iveco Daily if Fiat Industrial were to sell it, the chairman of the French unit of Sweden's Volvo told an Italian paper on Friday...  Iveco is the truck and commercial vehicle unit of Italy's Fiat Industrial -- the truck and tractor maker which Italian carmaker Fiat spun off in January...  Stefano Chmielewski the chairman of Renault Trucks said, his company had made no formal offer because Fiat had officially not put anything up for sale...  Chmielewski said, Iveco would have to be broken up and sold separately and Renault Trucks would be interested in Iveco's medium and light commercial vehicles segment...  (Image from trucktrend: Ieco Daily van front view)


* Germany - Public takeover offer by Daimler and Rolls-Royce for Tognum successful

Stuttgart,Germany -Transport Weekly -6 June 2011: -- Following the expiry of the acceptance period for its public takeover offer for Tognum AG, Daimler AG and Rolls-Royce Holding plc now hold a total of 59,87 per cent of Tognum shares through their Joint Venture Engine Holding GmbH... Daimler and Rolls-Royce are very pleased with this convincing result. It represents a milestone in the takeover process of Tognum AG and lays a strong foundation for the future co-operation of the three companies. Daimler and Rolls-Royce expect further shares to be tendered during the additional acceptance period... By combining their respective technological strengths and market access, Daimler, Rolls-Royce and Tognum will establish a leading industrial engine systems and solutions company, offering a broad portfolio of products, services and integrated solutions on a worldwide basis...


* Japan - Cat's facilities spared disaster in, but impact will be felt. Despite the devastation - to the country and its economy - the Caterpillar CEO believes that Japan will bounce back.

(Photo: COURTESY OF CATERPILLAR INC: Caterpillar Inc. CEO Doug Oberhelman inspects the damage at a Caterpillar dealer located near the Sendai Airport, close to the epicenter of the earthquake that resulted in the devastating tsunami that hit Japan in March. Last week, Oberhelman visited Caterpillar facilities in Japan, where the company maintains two factories, a design center and 5,000 employees)
Peoria,ILL,USA -The Peoria Journal Star, by STEVE TARTER -Jun 01, 2011: -1 June 2011:  --  After a recent review of his company's operations in disaster-stricken Japan, Caterpillar Inc. CEO. Doug Oberhelman. is optimistic that the country will make a comeback from the March earthquake and tsunami that took an estimated 23,000 lives...  The island nation is an important cog in Caterpillar's worldwide production setup with two factories, a design center and 5,000 employees, said Oberhelman... Caterpillar equipment produced in Japan is marketed throughout Asia and to the United States...  Oberhelman visited a Caterpillar dealer that was hit hard by the tsunami...  "  The dealer was located near the Sendai Airport (north of Tokyo). They lost everything. I saw a D-8 tractor and a 40-ton truck tossed around like Tinker Toys," he said. Oberhelman added that two employees from the dealership died trying to help people during the early recovery efforts"   ...


* Japan - Mitsubishi Fuso earns ISO first

(Photo from Wikipedia: FUSO's Supergreat truck model FU07)
Saiwai-ku,Kawasaki-shi,Kanagawa,Japan -Fleet Owner (USA) -Jun 3, 2011: -- Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp. (MFTBC) has become the first automotive manufacturer in Japan to earn the ISO/TS 16949 international standard for quality management... Developed specifically for the automotive industry, ISO/TS 16949 certification requires meeting stringent standards covering global parts procurement, prevention of failure, reduction of wastes and limiting variations in quality... The MFTBC certification covers all of the company’s truck and component operations, including the manufacturing facilities for the vehicles, engines, transmissions and axles in its North American truck lineup...


* India - MNAL eyes sale of 50,000 HCVs and 20,000 LCVs in three years

Mumbai,Maharastra,India -Business Standard and Truck Driver/Truck India on Linkedin -7 June 2011: -- Mahindra Navistar Automotive which has recently added heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) of various range in its portfolio, which earlier consisted of light commercial vehicles (LCVs) only, is aiming to sell 50,000 heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs) and 20,000 light commercial vehicles (LCVs) in the next three years... While 160,000 units HCV market in the country is growing at 40 per cent per annum, LCV market of 240,000 units is growing at 15 per cent...   The company, a joint venture between Mahindra & Mahindra and Navistar of the US, manufactures vehicles above 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle-weight to 49 tonnes. Vehicle under 3.5 tonnes are produced by Mahindra & Mahindra... (Picture from dancewithshadows: A Mahindra-Navistar truck)