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MOTORINDIA
l
June 2012
131
Europe increased its market share
to a record 16 per cent. The Euro-
pean market weakened somewhat
towards the end of the year, but after
that stabilized at the new, slightly
lower level.
Market shares in North America
also picked up equally well. In the
US, Volvo and Mack had a com-
bined 19.8 per cent of the market for
heavy-duty trucks. In Brazil, Vol-
vo’s market share rose to 17.1 per
cent for heavy-duty trucks and, for
the first time, it is the leader in the
heavy-duty truck segment.
Volvo Construction Equipment
(Volvo CE) also strengthened its
position in several growth markets
worldwide. In China its brands,
Volvo and SDLG, advanced as mar-
ket leader within wheel loaders and
excavators. SDLG which recently
launched new models of excavators
hopes that the success in the giant
market will continue. Volvo hybrid
buses are also attracting demand all
over the world.
Increased profitability
Good market conditions in the
main regions and increasing market
shares driven by competitive prod-
ucts translated into Volvo deliver-
ing close to 238,000 trucks during
2011 – an increase of 32 per cent
compared to the preceding year. Net
sales in truck operations surpassed
SEK 200 billion and profitability
improved to an operating margin of
9.1 per cent.
From a historic perspective, Volvo
Buses had a good year, both in terms
of volumes and profitability. This
was achieved by successful efforts
to grow in emerging markets, which
offset the continued weak markets
in Europe and the US. Operating in-
come increased to SEK 1 billion and
operating margin improved to 4.6
per cent, which is below the group
average but good when compared to
competitors.
“During my predecessor Leif Jo-
hansson’s 14 years as CEO, the Vol-
vo Group established itself as one of
the world’s largest manufacturers of
commercial vehicles with strong po-
sitions in mature markets and with
an increasingly important presence
in growth markets. As a step in fur-
ther streamlining the Volvo Group
towards commercial vehicles, dur-
ing the year we initiated a proc-
ess aimed at divesting Volvo
Aero”, says Mr. Persson.
Growing Indian
market
The Indian market is in
an exciting growth phase with
increasing investments in infra-
structure. The Volvo Group’s
joint venture company VE
Commercial Vehicles (VECV),
formed in 2008, comprises the en-
tire Eicher Motors truck and bus
operations and the Volvo Group’s
Indian sales operations in the truck
segment as well as the service opera-
tions for trucks and buses. The Indian
market for heavy-duty trucks grew
by 12 per cent to 237,000 trucks in
2011 compared to 212,000 vehicles
vehicle zone
Focus on Truck industry