Volkswagen Truck & Bus on Wednesday announced it will change its name to the Traton Group, a move made in preparation for the company becoming a publicly traded entity independent of its Volkswagen parent company.
Volkswagen Truck & Bus is the umbrella company for MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus and RIO. Volkswagen Truck & Bus also owns a nearly 17 percent stake in Navistar, parent company of International Trucks.
Andreas Renschler, chief executive officer of Volkswagen Truck & Bus Group and a member of the board of Volkswagen AG, said the move is a “major milestone” for Volkswagen Truck & Bus and will provide the company with greater independence. “It will further strengthen our group’s joint identity and uniqueness,” he said. “The new name will also foster our visibility as the leading group for innovative transportation solutions. It will increase our attractiveness for new talents as well as for capital markets.”
Brands MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus and RIO will retain their own identities under the umbrella brand of Traton Group. The official name change is expected to be effective later this year.
In explaining the name change, Volkswagen Truck & Bus says the name Traton was created by combining the words transformation, transportation, tradition and tonnage.
