At the MAN SE annual general meeting in Munich, the company's chief executive officer Georg Pachta-Reyhofen has revealed that MAN Nutzfahrzeuge, together with partner Sinotruk, will present a new truck brand in China for the Asian market in 2010.

Pachta-Reyhofen noted in a speech to shareholders: "We will continue to focus on the BRIC countries internationally. In doing so, we are pursuing the international growth strategy that we have embarked upon in recent years which is just starting to bear fruit. Brazil is an excellent example of this. Now it is mainly about putting the strategic decisions into practice with acquisitions and cooperation agreements in the sense of a global product and production concept and succeeding through growth and synergies."

Confirming the new truck brand plan, the chief executive also said: "We will also be integrating the first few components from MAN into Sinotruk's existing ranges, as planned. This partnership enables us to participate directly in the market leader's performance in the largest truck market worldwide, which would not be possible with a joint venture."

With regard to India, Pachta-Reyhofen asserted that the company's joint venture for trucks in that country also offers MAN substantial market potential. He confirmed production will be boosted once the company has "localised the vehicles there and adapted them to the market once more."

Integration in Brazil is also making excellent progress, according to Pachta-Reyhofen. "MAN is continuing to successfully carry the VW truck brand established in the country - which leads the market in Brazil - and will complement it at the end of the year with more powerful premium trucks bearing the MAN brand. The first few orders for these vehicles have already been placed. We now want to expand beyond Brazil into all markets in Central and South America with a larger range of products."

Despite this focus on expansion in the BRIC countries, the MAN SE chief executive stressed that this did not mean that the company is working on a truck that would be suitable all around the world, saying: "By contrast, a modular or platform strategy in which components and adapted ranges are widely used internationally is possible and does make sense. We now want to make greater use of these synergies."

With regard to the 2010 outlook, Pachta-Reyhofen acknowledged: "Unfortunately the difficult times are not over completely. We expect business at MAN Nutzfahrzeuge to continue at the current level in 2010. Signs that the market is recovering are still timid. For this reason there will be additional measures to boost efficiency, cut costs in the long term and positively manage cash flow. Business performance at MAN Latin America is likely to be pleasing once again."