CEO comment - First quarter 2025

The first quarter of 2025 was marked by economic and geopolitical uncertainty. Trade tensions and global instability significantly affected the business environment.

At Scania, we saw a decline in truck deliveries (unit sales) compared to the same period in 2024. This was mainly due to more cautious ordering in the second half of last year. The drop was most noticeable in Europe. Also, challenges related to our new vehicle software platform impacted our delivery performance. While our efforts to improve production flexibility have led to better production flows, achieving full stability remains a priority.

On a more positive note, Scania's bus business experienced strong delivery growth, driven by the successful implementation of our updated bus strategy, which builds on strong partnerships with bodybuilders.

Data from connected vehicles enables the tracking of global transport activity, which is currently slightly lower compared to the same period last year. Nevertheless, the service business continues to contribute to Scania’s financial stability, with a growth of 4 percent in the quarter.

Lower truck delivery volumes led to an 11 percent decline in sales revenue, totalling SEK 48.9 (55.1) billion. Operating result (adjusted) fell by 36 percent to SEK 5.1 (8.0) billion, mainly due to lower delivery volumes and currency headwinds resulting in an operating return on sales (adjusted) of 10.5 (14.5) percent.

Encouragingly, Scania’s total incoming orders for trucks rose in the quarter. While truck orders declined in Brazil due to seasonal effects and economic uncertainty, this was offset by stronger orders in Europe. The book-to-bill ratio, i.e. the ratio of incoming orders to unit sales, was 1.11 in the first quarter.

Scania’s market share for trucks grew in a competitive market environment, reaching 18.8 percent (18.6) in Europe. 

Scania continued to make progress in electrification in the first quarter. One highlight was that we introduced a new e-machine for our battery-electric bus platform. With four power options and an integrated gearbox, it boosts performance and energy efficiency in urban zero-emission transport.

I am pleased with how we continue to deepen our partnerships with key customers. Our role as a trusted advisor is not only to understand their transport needs, but also those of their customers - taking a holistic view of the entire logistics flow. In the quarter we launched one of Europe’s longest routes for battery-electric trucks in partnership with SKF, LOTS Group and Ahréns Åkeri - demonstrating the viability of long-haul electric transport and achieving significant CO₂ reductions. We also announced a pilot partnership with DHL Group to develop and deliver the first electric truck with a fuel-powered range extender. This innovation supports the transition to sustainable logistics without requiring a fully built-out charging network.

Scaling up electric vehicles is a monumental challenge. Today, just 2 percent of new trucks sold in the EU are zero-emission. To meet the 2030 climate targets, that number must increase to at least 35 percent - a dramatic shift in under five years.

As Chair of the ACEA Commercial Vehicles Board this year, I am representing our industry in Brussels to ensure the voice of heavy-duty manufacturers is heard. Through the Strategic Dialogue initiated by President von der Leyen, Scania has been clear: we welcome ambitious climate legislation. But to make zero-emission transport a viable and competitive reality the right conditions must be in place, adapted to commercial vehicles that serve as the bloodstream of our society. We call on the EU to accelerate the review of CO₂ standards, well ahead of 2027, and to sharpen the focus on enabling conditions: charging and refuelling infrastructure, energy pricing, and broader economic factors.

On the product side we have solid plans and a key focus for Scania has been to accelerate our battery supply strategy. As part of this, we have taken important steps toward a more resilient supply chain by diversifying our battery supplier base. This will be crucial to support the future scale-up of our battery electric vehicle (BEV) offering.

The TRATON Group integration is progressing and we have now entered a more optimised R&D setup within the Group. This marks a bold new chapter that strengthens collaboration across our brands and accelerates innovation and scalability.

We are already seeing some great examples of what this integration enables. The Common Base Engine (CBE), TRATON’s shared engine platform developed through cross-brand collaboration, offers various performance levels and brand-specific features. It is already in use by Scania and International, and I am pleased it has now entered serial production at MAN’s facilities, further demonstrating the Group’s coordinated industrial progress. TRATON Financial Services continues to grow as a global enabler of customer value, providing the backbone for the Group to offer tailormade financial solutions in a scalable way.  Another milestone is the strategic partnership between TRATON and Applied Intuition, a Silicon Valley-based software company with focus on industrialising software-defined commercial vehicles at scale. The partnership aims to deploy an industry-leading vehicle software platform and a developer toolchain across all TRATON brands globally, enabling faster innovation and smarter vehicles.

As part of our continued integration, we have changed how we report Scania’s financial performance. Starting this quarter, Scania will no longer publish an interim report. Instead, we are providing a performance summary each quarter that offers a clear snapshot of our development. More comprehensive information on Scania’s financial performance appears in the TRATON Group’s interim statement. This change reflects our integrated approach and contributes to a more streamlined reporting structure across the Group.

Despite the ongoing uncertainty in the world, let me assure you that Scania’s direction is firm. Backed by the strength of the TRATON Group, we continue to invest in areas that enhance our long-term competitiveness, such as in electrification and our third industrial hub in China. This allows us to continue offering our customers tailormade premium solutions, for profitable and sustainable businesses. Scania’s commitment to driving the shift towards a sustainable transport system remains unwavering.