Continued success for Scania in Spain

Continued success for Scania in Spain In 1998, Scania truck and bus sales in the Spanish market broke records. The new year has also begun very well. "In January, we have clearly higher order bookings for both trucks and buses compared to last year," José Badía, Managing Director of Scania Hispania, told a press conference in Madrid on Friday. The Spanish commercial vehicle market continued to expand during 1998. The heavy truck market grew by more than 13 percent to 17,700 vehicles. This was the second highest volume ever. The record year was 1989, when 19,900 trucks were registered. The number of Scania trucks registered rose by more than 15 percent, or faster than the increase in total demand. During the 1990s, Scania has more than doubled its share of the Spanish heavy truck market. A total of 2,850 Scania trucks and 372 buses were registered. These were Scania's largest unit sales ever in the Spanish market. The company's market share was 16.1 percent for trucks and 15.2 percent for buses. Scania is the largest imported truck make and the second largest imported bus make. "Our good results are a combination of very good products, successful inroads in new segments and restructuring of our dealership network," Mr. Badía says. Since the 4-series was introduced in late 1995, Scania Hispania has sharply increased its market penetration in the construction haulage and local/regional distribution truck segments. Compared to 1997, Scania's market share for construction trucks doubled to more than 12 percent, and the 4- series has increased Scania's presence in the distribution segment from about 12 percent to 19 percent. For further information, please contact Hans-Åke Danielsson, Corporate Communications, tel +46-8-553 856 62. Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 23,600 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. During 1998, sales reached SEK 45.2 billion kronor, and income after financial items reached SEK 3.2 billion, according to preliminary figures. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries, and approximately 96 percent of total production is sold outside Sweden. Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com ------------------------------------------------------------ Please visit http://www.bit.se for further information The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/02/12/19990212BIT00710/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1999/02/12/19990212BIT00710/bit0002.pdf