Scania annual report 2002

eaking levels of the mid-90s. Since 1998, Scania’s
sales and service network has been restructured and
further expanded.
In China, the economy is growing rapidly. However,
the market for the type of highly technically specified
Western products that Scania sells is limited. The
existing logistics and distribution systems are totally
different from those in Europe.
Co-operation with Hino is continuing as planned,
and the first Scania trucks have already been delivered
to Japanese customers. Other projects are continuously
being evaluated. It should also be borne in mind
that this co-operation is aimed at long-term positive
results for both parties.
We also signed a strategic co-operation agreement
with Japanese-based Yanmar, a world leader in engine
manufacturing, on the delivery of marine engines for
pleasure boats, which will be sold under Yanmar’s
brand name.
New bus and coach structure
For many years, the profitability of Scania’s bus and
coach operations has been weak. These operations
had to undergo a major improvement. The objective
is to achieve the same income level as for trucks.
In Europe, the problem has primarily been of a
structural nature, while in Latin America it was due
to a sharp decline in volume. During the year, we also
completed the restructuring of European bus and
coach operations that we began earlier.
Since a large proportion of a bus chassis consists
of truck components, while trucks and buses share
development stages and bus chassis resemble truck
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