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costs of developing self-driving vehicles and new transportation services such as ride sharing. Reuters reports that the two truck makers will consider cooperating in areas such as diesel and gasoline-electric hybrid engines, connectivity and self-driving technologies. Adding their combined output could offer economies of scale in research and development (R&D) as well as procurement. “We can join forces and spend R&D money only once, instead of twice or three times,” Renschler told reporters at an event in Tokyo to announce the agreement. “We see potential to save on our budgets and to combine our resources to bring products to market faster than if we were alone.” He is upbeat about prospects for the alliance. “We are delighted to enter into the alliance with Hino Motors as we are teaming up with one of the leading truck and bus companies, whose presence is especially strong in Asia. “It is an excellent fit in terms of regional footprints and products, but also concerning common ideas on how to shape the future of transportation together. The cooperation with Hino Motors will also contribute to our strategy to become the global champion in the transport industry by providing the highest value to our customers.” Yoshio Shimo, president and CEO of Hino Motors, is equally upbeat. “This agreement was made possible because Hino Motors and Volkswagen Truck & Bus respect each other and share the same aspiration to offer customers the highest value. Hino Motors invented the company slogan ‘Trucks and Buses that do more’. “To do justice to that, Hino Motors will pursue regional business cooperation and joint utilisation of technologies with Volkswagen Truck & Bus to offer customers better products and, ultimately, customised total support. It will also be a strong tieup at times of new challenges in the field of transport, due to the rapid growth of e-commerce,” he tells FOCUS. At this stage, neither company is considering acquiring shares in the other, but who knows what the future holds in this regard?
FOCUS ON TRANSPORT
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