Scania expands in Lithuania

12/18/1998 8:38 AM EST

Vilskana becomes wholly-owned importer

Scania is taking over Vilskana UAB, Lithuania's leading Scania dealership,
with immediate effect. The new subsidiary, which is also taking over the name
and all the staff, will be based in the newly inaugurated premises in Vilnius
which will also serve as the regional centre for Scania sales in Lithuania.

Anders Grundströmer, who heads Scania's operations in Scandinavia, the Baltic
states and the CIS states, says that Scania is now better equipped than ever
before to meet market demands in Lithuania.

"Scania's sales operation in Lithuania started in 1992, and we inaugurated our
first dealer premises in Kaunas two years later. Last year marked the opening
of the new office in Vilnius and now, with the formation of the new company,
we have gathered our resources to offer our customers full service, from truck
sales through service, maintenance and repairs to parts sales."

The customer base has expanded steadily. Scania secured 9 percent of the
Lithuanian market in 1997 and the figure so far this year points to a market
share of between 14 and 15 percent. The total market for heavy trucks in
Lithuania amounted to 400 units in 1997, with preliminary figures for this
year in the region of 500 trucks.

The Lithuanian transport market is dominated by haulage firms operating on
international routes. There is a definite growth in local transportation
requirements in segments such as heavy timber transportation, distribution,
municipal services such as refuse handling and road maintenance.

For this reason, Scania will open a facility in Klaipeda in early 1999.

For further information, please contact Ulf Söderström, tel. +46 8 553 81044,
mobile +46 70 680 9595.

Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for
heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With
23,800 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania
is one of the most profitable companies in its sector. In 1997, turnover
totalled SEK 39,700 million and income after financial items SEK 2,800
million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and
approximately 95% of total production is sold outside Sweden.