Armoured truck tie up

German war transports to travel to new markets

Truck manufacturer MAN has begun a joint venture with German defence company Rheinmetall to develop military land vehicles.

The two firms are working together to develop armoured and unarmoured transport for the international defence market. The new venture is called Rheinmetall MAN Military Vehicles and incorporates two factories in Kassel, Germany, and Vienna, Austria. 

The company has 370 employees but this figure is expected to rise “as the business develops” said Dr Detlef Hug of MAN. “We expect the venture to produce vehicles for the UK market and across Western Europe,” he added. 

MAN already supplies off-road military trucks to Britain. It has worked with Rheinmetall for a number of years. As part of the new venture, MAN will focus on producing truck chassis, engines and axles at the Vienna plant. These vehicles will then be armoured by Rheinmetall at Kassel. 

As well as Europe, the venture is looking to supply markets in South Africa, Australia, Asia and the Middle East, Dr Hug said.

“The new company follows the trend towards the joint acquisition of logistical and tactical military vehicles, whose protective and mobility characteristics have become highly similar because of current operational conditions,” said Klaus Eberhardt, chairman of Rheinmetall’s executive board. “With their joint enterprise MAN and Rheinmetall are at the same time making an important contribution to the necessary consolidation of military vehicle systems at national and European levels.”

The tie-up between the two companies is subject to approval from competition authorities.