Volvo buses and Berkhof-Jonckheere announce closer cooperation

VOLVO BUSES AND BERKHOF-JONCKHEERE ANNOUNCE CLOSER COOPERATION Volvo Buses and Berkhof-Jonckheere have entered into an agreement covering marketing and sales with a view to exploiting synergies between the two parties. The two companies see the collaboration as an important step in improving the product offering and services which they offer to customers, mainly in the UK and Benelux. As a first step, Volvo Bus Limited in the UK have concluded negotiations to take on the Berkhof franchise for the UK and Ireland. Volvo Coach Sales, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volvo Bus Limited, already holds the sole UK franchise for Jonckheere coachwork. The cooperation will also aim forwards closer relationship on the continental Europe and will initially focus on Belgium and the Netherlands. The main objective will be to exploit the synergies offered by the strengths of each company. Initially, marketing and sales will be the main area of cooperation. However, plans are also being made to expand collaboration successively in other areas. This collaboration does not include any ownership participation. "We feel that our two businesses have a lot in common. This is a positive and a sound development for Volvo Buses", says Lars Blom, Vice President Volvo Bus Corporation, and Head of Business Region Europe. "This agreement strengthen both companies to the benefit of our customers - bus operators, drivers and passengers". "With Volvo Buses as a strategic partner we will get the oppurtunity to develop the two companies and strengthen our positions in the markets to meet the demands of our customers", says Theo Toussaint, Vice President, VDL Group. "We work with the same values. Therefore, our collaboration within sales and marketing announced today could develop further into other areas." Volvo and Berkhof-Jonckheere regard the initiative as a major step in providing their customers a complete and reliable service package with quality vehicles offering high standards of availability and reliability, a major factor at a time when the life-cycle cost of a coach is becoming increasingly important to operators. The Berkhof-Jonckheere Group is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Dutch VDL Group. Berkhof-Jonckheere is the largest bus and coachbuilder in the Netherlands and one of the largest bus and coach manufacturers in Europe. April 2, 2001 For more information please contact: Heléne Mellquist, Head of Corporate Communication Volvo Bus Corporation Tel: +46 31 66 12 06 Fax: +46 31 66 72 88 E-mail: info.buses@volvo.com ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by BIT http://www.bit.se The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/04/02/20010402BIT00610/bit0002.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/04/02/20010402BIT00610/bit0002.pdf