STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 26, 2002 (PRIMEZONE) -- Scania's (NYSE:SCVA) successes on the Italian bus market are continuing, with orders for 138 buses since the start of this year alone. Forty-five are Scania OmniCity low-floor buses for inner-city operations, relates Henry Jonsson, Managing Director of Scania Bus Italy.
The largest single orders so far this year are for 60 buses in route operations for the city of Palermo and 30 city buses (OmniCity) for Genoa.
Scania's increased focus on Europe's third largest bus market resulted in 2001 in a sales increase of more than 50 percent, to just over 300 buses. This gave the company a total market share of about 8 percent.
It was two years ago that Scania made a successful breakthrough into the Italian city bus segment with the OmniCity low-floor bus. Since then, more than 130 OmniCity buses have been sold to various Italian cities.
One proof of Scania's successful drive is that the company recently received an award from the country's largest trade publication in the transport sector "Tuttotrasporti" to mark its successes on the Italian city bus market.
"In the tourist coach segment, where Scania has a long tradition, we reached a market share of 12 percent with sales of 120 coaches," concluded Henry Jonsson.
Scania is one of the world's leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines. With 28,300 employees and production facilities in Europe and Latin America, Scania is one of the most profitable companies in its sector.
In 2001, turnover totaled SEK 53,000 million and the result after financial items was SEK 1,500 million. Scania products are marketed in about 100 countries worldwide and some 95 percent of Scania's vehicles are sold outside Sweden.
Scania press releases are available on the Internet, www.scania.com
This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net