Report: Mitsubishi, Volvo to jointly develop, sell medium-duty trucks

TOKYO (April 5) — Volvo AB will jointly develop trucks with Mitsubishi Motors Corp., according to the Tokyo-based Sankei newspaper, a move being interpreted as a prelude to an acquisition by the Swedish truckmaker.

The partnership would include the marketing and the sale of medium-duty trucks, the newspaper quoted a Mitsubishi executive as saying. There has been no official announcement by either company.

Mitsubishi and Volvo have been conducting a feasibility study on co-operation in medium-size trucks since the fall of 1997. The two companies also have marketing ties. Mitsubishi sells Canter trucks through Volvo’s sales network in Europe.

The report gave no indication that vehicles would be developed for North America, where Volvo has not sold a medium-duty truck for several years.

However, Volvo Trucks North America president Marc Gustafson, who leads Volvo AB’s global marketing efforts, indicated last month that the company was strongly considering bringing a medium-duty vehicle to the U.S. and Canada again.

Volvo, the world’s second-largest truckmaker, has been looking for acquisition partners since selling its car business to Ford Motor Co. for $6.5 billion. Volvo reportedly has also explored the purchase of Chicago-based Navistar International, the world’s No. 4 builder of heavy trucks.