Germany – CV manufacturer, Traton SE of Munich, which owns several truck and bus brands including Scania, Man Truck & Bus, and Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, has reported sales figures for the first half of 2021 that are either level with, or, in some cases, significantly better than, its sales performance prior to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Incoming orders of trucks and buses totalled 170,900, a rise of 42% over the first half of 2019 (120,500) and 96% over the first half of 2020 (87,400). Unit sales of Traton’s brands grew by 3% (126,500) compared with the first half of 2019 (123,300) and by 63% compared with the first half of 2020 (77,700). A breakdown of these figures shows that while unit sales of trucks increased by 70% to 119,900 over the previous year (70,500), unit sales of buses and coaches declined by 10% to 6,500, down from 7,200. Bus sales picked up slightly, however, in the second quarter of 2021, with 3,400 buses sold, an increase of 6% compared with the second quarter of 2020 (3,200).