Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors sign final agreements for strategic alliance

Ten months after they first inked an MoU to form a strategic alliance within commercial vehicles in order to capture the opportunities in the ongoing industry transformation, the Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors today signed binding agreements.

The agreements include Isuzu Motor’s acquisition of UD Trucks from the Volvo Group for an enterprise value of JPY 243 billion (approximately Rs 16,767 crore).  

The Alliance between the Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors is set to a build long-term and robust relationship that will encompass:
- Joint development by Isuzu Motors and UD Trucks of common platforms for medium heavy-duty truck models for the Japanese- and other Asian markets, utilising amongst others Volvo Group technology. 
- Intended cooperation regarding new technologies such as autonomous driving, connectivity and medium- and heavy-duty electrical vehicles.
- Creating the best long-term conditions for a stronger heavy-duty truck business for UD Trucks and Isuzu Motors in Japan and across international markets by transferring ownership of the complete UD Trucks business from the Volvo Group to Isuzu Motors. This will accelerate growth by leveraging greater volumes and complementary capabilities, creating significant synergies for Isuzu Motors. 
- As a first step, Isuzu Motors and UD Trucks are discussing the conditions for supply of certain truck variants from UD Trucks to Isuzu Motors from 2022 onwards.
- Exploring further opportunities for even broader and deeper collaboration within the commercial vehicle businesses across geographical areas and product lines for future urban logistics solutions. Isuzu Motors is one of the world-leaders in the segment of 3.5 to 15T light and medium-duty trucks with volumes of 252 000 units in 2019.   
- Exploring cooperation in the areas of purchasing and logistics, leveraging common technology, as well as the geographical footprint complementarity and volume expansion.

The Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors will establish a Joint Alliance Office, with facilities both in Japan and Sweden, which will be overseen by an Alliance Board comprising the Isuzu Motors President, the Volvo Group CEO and other key executives from the two groups. 

“I have high expectations on this strategic alliance, which will make Volvo and Isuzu Motors even more competitive within their respective markets and segments. This is an opportunity to share technology investments and also to help each other grow. I am confident that UD Trucks will become a bridge between the Volvo Group and Isuzu Motors and that the strategic alliance will create the conditions to continue to develop UD Trucks to a new level within Isuzu Motors. I also want to express my pride at how the UD Trucks team has been able to serve customers and continue to improve financial performance also during this unprecedented period, characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Volvo Group will continue to support UD Trucks, and participate in the Asian markets through this alliance,” says Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO of the Volvo Group. 

“This is a very exciting day. We have signed the strategic alliance agreement with the Volvo Group. The difficult and unforeseeable COVID-19 situation has made the strategic alliance even more valuable and has built a solid, trustful relationship between Isuzu and the Volvo Group. This long-term partnership will span across products, technologies and regions, and actively contribute to service improvements and strengthened customer satisfaction as well as supporting the logistics industry. I am fortunate to have UD Trucks joining the Isuzu Group. UD Trucks will play an important role of the strategic alliance for efficient and effective collaboration between Isuzu Motors and the Volvo Group,” says Masanori Katayama, President and Representative Director of Isuzu Motors Limited.