VW Ponders More Independence for Heavy Truck Unit

Volkswagen AG is studying options that could lead to an initial public offering for its heavy commercial truck operations, sources tell Bloomberg News.

Those businesses consist of VW’s own heavy-duty trucks, along with vehicles made by Germany’s MAN Group and Sweden’s Scania. The latter two brands are part of VW’s Truck & Bus GmbH, a holding company created in 2015.

The subsidiary generates some €25 billion ($30.8 billion) in annual sales and is targeting €1 billion in savings through shared transmissions, logistics operations and production facilities. In September VW expanded its heavy-truck reach in the U.S. by acquiring a 17% stake in Illinois-based Navistar International Corp.

VW could decide within weeks to change its heavy truck business into a private limited company, according to Bloomberg. But the news service’s sources add that the complex discussions to do so could take months to complete. VW tells Bloomberg that “all options are open.”