Volkswagen will cooperate with truck manufacturer Man to produce light commercial vehicles

On March 14th, Volkswagen is establishing a further cooperative relationship with German truck manufacturer MAN. Through strategic cooperation, both parties will produce light commercial vehicles.

It is reported that the agreement between Volkswagen and Daimler to produce Crafter for commercial vehicles in Düsseldorf will expire in 2016. "The public may decide to continue to deepen the contract and cooperate with Mann to produce the next-generation Crafter." Volkswagen commercial vehicle leader Wolfgang Schreiber revealed to the media on the 14th.

“The public is negotiating with Man to discuss matters of cooperation. The company will make further decisions next month,” added Schreiber.

Volkswagen absolutely owns Man Corporation and holds 56% of the voting decision-making power. It tries to merge Man and its truck brand Scania. The reason why Volkswagen has such plans is mainly because the merger of the two brands can reduce expenses of 200 million euros per year, especially in procurement, production and research and development.

Driven by demand from North America, sales of Volkswagen's commercial vehicles increased by 21% to 529,000 in 2011. “In the first two months of this year, Volkswagen's commercial vehicle sales increased by 9%. In 2012, Volkswagen's commercial vehicles continued to expand,” added Harald Schomburg, director of sales for commercial vehicles at Volkswagen.