Volvo ups its stake in Scania, elevating tension between Sweden’s rival truck makers

STOCKHOLM (April 30) — Volvo AB has raised its voting stake in Scania AB to 15.1%, elevating tension between Sweden’s rival truck makers.

Volvo increased its voting stake by 2.1% during trading the past two days. In January, Volvo bought 13.5% of Scania and said it wanted to buy the rest. Scania and Investor AB, Scania’s largest shareholder with 46%, have said they believe the company can prosper on its own. They have also said they are interested in selling the company but not to Volvo, and that Volvo’s ownership has scared away other potential buyers.

“Volvo is one of our biggest competitors and now one of our owners,” Scania spokesman Ulf Soederstroem told the Bloomberg new service. “They are making our situation more difficult.”

Volvo, the world’s second-largest truck maker, is flush with cash after selling its car unit to Ford Motor Co. for $6.5 billion. The company has said it wants to focus on building trucks and buses.

“We have said we want to strengthen our connections with Scania,” Volvo spokesman Stefan Lorentzon told Reuters. “We cannot rule out buying further shares in Scania.”

“We have a genuine, legitimate and industrial interest in co-operating with Scania,” he said.