The decision to launch the new partnership was made following the highly successful cooperation of TRATON’s MAN Truck & Bus AG and Solera, which have jointly developed a driver-focused after sales application set. Now, TRATON and Solera are taking the cooperation to the next level.
Both companies have united to help their customers solve the biggest challenges the transportation industry is facing: driver shortage and retention, security, truck utilization and load efficiency, solutions for predictive maintenance, analytics and vehicle uptime.
Beyond this, the partnership also aims to shape and accelerate new business models of the future, such as freight hailing, secure logistics and smart goods, as well as tracking with sensor data. As partners, TRATON and Solera intend to deliver digital solutions from TRATON, for example Loadfox, RIO services, MAN DigitalServices, enriched with Solera’s Digital Garage platform that focuses on connecting all of the approximately 250 service interactions throughout the truck life-cycle.
Andreas Renschler, Chief Executive Officer of TRATON AG and member of the Management Board of Volkswagen AG responsible for Commercial Vehicles, said: “At TRATON we strongly believe in the power of strategic partnerships in order to implement our Global Champion Strategy. This partnership is another step beyond our traditional business. With Solera as a partner we gain further expertise and are aiming to explore new ways in the field of connected services and new business models. It is a great milestone for us as we are developing from a group of hardware manufacturers to a provider of digital solutions for our customers.”
Tony Aquila, founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Solera, said: “We are excited to work with TRATON and its portfolio of brands to bring secure digital solutions to the fleet and logistics market. With our built-in IVAS technology that secures and verifies fleet activity, our flagship Digital Garage platform will connect to the industrial blockchain to help digitalize and secure this industry. Our partnership with TRATON is built on a driver-first approach that is designed to yield higher ROIs, lower transaction costs and ensure superior customer experience.”
Both companies intend to connect open ecosystems that interlink intermodal transportation and existing IT solutions in a smart and secure way. Unlike other solutions in the market, this will be founded on an open API based ecosystem. In the upcoming weeks, the joint projects will be further specified and processed.
About TRATON
TRATON AG, formerly Volkswagen Truck & Bus AG, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG and a leading commercial vehicle manufacturer worldwide with its brands MAN, Scania, Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, and RIO. In 2017, TRATON GROUP’s brands sold around 205,000 vehicles in total. Its offering comprises light-duty commercial vehicles, trucks, and buses which are produced at 31 sites in 17 countries. The Company had a workforce of around 81,000 worldwide across its commercial vehicle brands as of December 31, 2017. The Group seeks to transform the transportation system through its products, its services, and as a partner for its customers.
About Solera
Founded and continuously led by inventor and entrepreneur Tony Aquila, Solera is a global leader in digital technologies that connect and secure life's most important assets: our cars, trucks, homes and identities. Today, Solera processes over 300 million digital transactions annually for approximately 235,000 partners and customers in nearly 90 countries. For more information, please visit solera.com.
Cautions about Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements about: the benefits of the partnership between Solera and TRATON (the "Partnership"), including but not limited to: the future development and commercialization of fleet management, driver services and digital sales solutions for the global commercial vehicle ecosystem; the future development and expansion of Solera's Digital Garage Fleet platform and IVAS technology; and the expected benefits of the Partnership to global commercial vehicle ecosystem participants. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and assumptions and are subject to many risks, uncertainties and unknown future events that could cause actual results to differ materially. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in this press release due to the risks and uncertainties inherent in transactions of this nature, Solera’s business and TRATON’s business, including, without limitation: the failure to realize the expected benefits of the Partnership; risks associated with and possible negative consequences of acquisitions, investments, joint ventures and similar transactions; successfully combining Solera's solutions, products and services with or into other TRATON solutions, products and services; continued adoption of Solera's and TRATON’s solutions, products and services; and the effects of competition on product and service pricing and Solera's and TRATON’s business. Solera and TRATON are under no obligation to (and specifically disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.