Scania heading for record year in France

Concentration on major customers yields results: Scania heading for record year in France In France, Scania's concentration on haulage firms with large fleets has yielded results. With a 30 percent increase in sales to a total of about 4,000 trucks, 1998 is about to become a record year. "Our success with large fleet customers is the product of a long-term programme of investment in our dealer and service network. It also shows that our offer of custom-designed solutions to meet the needs of each individual customer has made an impact even with big fleet operators," comments Dieter Merz, Managing Director of Scania France. Scania France, Scania's wholly-owned French subsidiary, estimates that its sales of trucks to fleet customers for 1998 as a whole will be in the region of 1,000 units, equivalent to about 25% of the company's total truck sales in the country. Several major French haulage firms bought their first Scania trucks in 1998. This includes companies such as Transalliance and Groupe Charles André, both of which operate fleets of about 2,000 vehicles. Transalliance has purchased 130 Scania trucks while Groupe Charles André, which specialises in the transport of hazardous cargoes, has bought 40. In the case of Transalliance, all of the vehicles are on long-term lease, and service and maintenance contracts have been signed for most of them. "Scania's services relating to vehicle ownership and operation (Scania Multiservice), backed by high-quality trucks with extremely low fuel consumption, delivers low operating costs and maximum fleet utilisation," adds Mr. Merz. It was three years ago that Scania France decided to alter its strategy by including French fleet operators among its target customers. A comprehensive market survey was carried out and contacts with fleet owners were initiated, accompanied by expansion of the range of services in the form of various Multiservice products. The breakthrough came just a year later when the publicly quoted Norbert Dentresssangle company - France's biggest private fleet operator - bought its first 75 Scania trucks. In 1998, the company decided to purchase an additional 75 Scanias, increasing the total number in its 3,000-unit fleet to 150. For further information, please contact Ulf Söderström, tel. +46-8-553 810 44; mobile +46-70-680 95 95 Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 23,800 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 1997, turnover totalled SEK 39,700 million and income after financial items SEK 2,800 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and approximately 95% 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/1998/12/29/19981229BIT00040/bit0001.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/1998/12/29/19981229BIT00040/bit0002.pdf