Volkswagen Truck & Bus Indústria e Comércio de Veículos Ltda., formerly known as Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus, is a Brazilian commercial vehicle manufacturing company based in Resende,

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and a subsidiary of

Traton , type = Public , traded_as = {{ubl , {{FWB, 8TRA , MDAX , ISIN = {{ISIN, sl=n, pl=y, DE000TRAT0N7 , industry = Automotive , genre = , fate = , predecessor = Volkswagen Group's heavy vehicle operations , successor = , founded = {{st ...

. It manufactures heavy

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport freight, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame construct ...

s and

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

es under the

Volkswagen Volkswagen (VW; )English: , . is a German automotive industry, automobile manufacturer based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, Germany. Established in 1937 by German Labour Front, The German Labour Front, it was revitalized into the global brand it ...

marque A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

. Volkswagen Truck and Bus was originally a part of the

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWCV; , abbreviated ''VWN'' ) is a German brand, marque of light commercial vehicles, owned by Volkswagen Group. It is headquartered in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany. Originally part of Volkswagen Passenger ...

division of the

Volkswagen Group Volkswagen AG (), known internationally as the Volkswagen Group, is a German public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of passenger and commercial vehicles, motorcycles, engines and turbomachinery. Headquartered in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxon ...

. On 1 January 2009, it was sold to

MAN SE MAN SE (abbreviation of ''Maschinenfabrik Augsburg- Nürnberg'', ) was a manufacturing and engineering company based in Munich, Germany. Its primary output was commercial vehicles and diesel engines through its MAN Truck & Bus and MAN Latin ...

, and formed its MAN Latin America division. In August 2021, MAN SE was merged with Traton SE, with the latter becoming the direct owner and parent of Volkswagen Truck and Bus.

Volkswagen Truck and Bus operation

In 1979, Volkswagenwerk AG acquired a 67% percent stake in Chrysler Motors do Brasil Ltda ( :pt). In January 1980, it increased its shareholding to 100%, therefore giving it the right to rename the company to Volkswagen Caminhões Ltda. VW 13

Volkswagen Caminhões Ltda. released their first

s in February/March 1981; the Volkswagen 11.130 and the Volkswagen 13.130, both had a reworked version of Volkswagen's Mk1 LT cabin, and were powered by MWM Motores Diesel Ltda (MWM)

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s on Chrysler engineered platforms which were inherited from the takeover.

AutoLatina years

From 1987 to 1996, Volkswagen Trucks and Buses were built with Ford components as part of the AutoLatina venture, and were built in Ford's Ipiranga complex in Brazil. Once the AutoLatina marriage fell through, Volkswagen Group had no

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

for its trucks and their parts, so the Resende plant was built in 1995.

Resende rebirth

1996, Resende was the official start for Volkswagen Trucks and Buses, developing their own parts and platforms. The Modular Consortium was introduced for the first time in Resende.

Modular Consortium

The Modular Consortium is the group of main suppliers that make the parts, and assembles them for Volkswagen Truck and Bus on site in the Resende factory. Volkswagen Groups involvement is only in supplying the factory and inspection at the end of production; Volkswagen pays only a small amount of wages, as each partner of the Modular Consortium pays the workers. The Modular Consortium comprises these companies: * Maxion Sistemas Automotivos Ltda. manufacture the chassis parts such as Air Reservoir, Fuel Tank and Frame *Cummins manufactures the Suspension and Axle parts such as Springs and Hubs and Drums *Maxion manufactures the Tires and Wheels *Carese manages the Body Shop *

PowerTrain In a motor vehicle, the powertrain comprises the main components that generate engine power, power and deliver that power to the road surface, water, or air. This includes the internal combustion engine, engine, transmission (mechanics), trans ...

manages the engine preparation and assembly * Carese manages the Paint Shop * Kromberg and Schubert (usually referred to as KROSCHU) manufactures the Cab Trim components such as Seats and Instrument Panel

Sales

Most of the early sales of the Truck and Bus

chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of a manufactured object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...

' operations were mainly within South America; with the exception of small exportations to China and the Middle East. Prior to Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles' new role of managing the Truck and Bus operation; in 1994 Volkswagen imported to Germany a 7

tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...

truck: the Volkswagen L80. Due to the European Union Gas Emissions EU4 standards; exports discontinued in late 2000.

The Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles era

took over the Brazilian Trucks and Buses operation in 2000 from Volkswagen do Brasil; Volkswagen's Brazilian subsidiary. This signaled the start of a new era for the

in producing its own Heavy Truck and Bus chassis range, which covers the gross combination mass (GCM) of 5 tonnes to 57 tonnes category. Since Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles have taken control; the company has been looking at expanding Truck and Bus sales to other markets outside of South America, South Africa and Middle East regions. All Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus vehicles are built in the Resende,

factory and sent in semi knocked down (SKD) kits to

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port El ...

in South Africa and

Puebla Puebla, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Puebla, is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its capital is Puebla City. Part of east-centr ...

in Mexico. Planned future markets for export are

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

and

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

countries. Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus released the new Volkswagen Constellation range in September 2005, with a gross combination mass from 13 tonnes to 57 tonnes.

Volkswagen Truck and Bus company facts

*The Resende plant was built in 153 days at a cost of US$250 million *The Resende plant adheres to

International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization (ISO ; ; ) is an independent, non-governmental, international standard development organization composed of representatives from the national standards organizations of member countries. M ...

ISO TS and ISO 14001 *Resende plant produces 240 vehicles per day in two working shifts and employs 4,500 workers. *Volkswagen Trucks and Buses are sold in over 35 countries around the world. Some of the countries are

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

Côte d'Ivoire Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest city and ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

and

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. *Most of the Volkswagen truck and Bus growth has been in the last eight years *All the 2007 Volkswagen truck range are capable of operating in minus 20 °C and plus 45 °C; Middle East specified trucks can stand 55 degrees

Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

. *Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus are assembled at the MAN Automotive Concessionaires Corporation plant in Quezon City, Philippines since March 2014.

BMB Mode Center

Established in 2002 10 km from Resende the assembly plant, the BMB Mode Center is responsible for modifications to the truck and bus range that cannot be done on the production line. BMB Mode Center build: *For bus range: low entry buses and articulated buses. *For truck range: 4x4, 8x4 & 8x2 conversions as well as an armored truck & finally exterior design modifications. The BMB division moved in June 2006 to the new location 150 m outside the Resende Plant. The new location has 30,000 square metres of land; it cost Brazilian R$7 million to build.

Volkswagen Truck and Bus highlights

1980s

;January 1981: Volkswagenwerk AG acquires 100% of the Chrysler Motors of Brazil Ltda ;February 1981: Volkswagen Caminhões Ltda releases first

s — 11.130, 13.130, and an

ethanol Ethanol (also called ethyl alcohol, grain alcohol, drinking alcohol, or simply alcohol) is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is an Alcohol (chemistry), alcohol, with its formula also written as , or EtOH, where Et is the ps ...

powered truck ;March 1981: Changing of name from Chrysler Motors of Brazil Ltda to Volkswagen Caminhões Ltda (Caminhões is Portuguese for trucks) ;September 1982: Launching of 6

truck range ;July 1984: Integration of Volkswagen Caminhões Ltda. into Volkswagen do Brasil ;August 1984: Volkswagen 140, the first methane gas/biogas powered truck in Brazil ;July 1985: Volkswagen 11.130 exported to China ;July 1987: Truck division integrates with Ford Trucks with the formation of AutoLatina

1990s

;July 1990: Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

moves to Industrial Complex of the Ipiranga ;April 1993: Launching of the first Volkswagen Volksbus chassis 16.180 CO ;April 1994: Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus celebrate 100,000th VWCV truck produced ;June 1995 : Beginning of the Volkswagen L80 exports to Germany : Volkswagen Caminhões Ltda. announces Resende, Brazil as site for the construction of the future Truck and Bus plant ;November 1996: Volkswagen Caminhões Ltda moves to new Resende plant ;September 1997: Commemoration of the 5000th vehicle made in the Resende plant ;June 1998 : Launching of the Volkswagen Trucks for the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

market : Export of

complete knock down A knock-down kit (also knockdown kit, knocked-down kit, or simply knockdown or KD) is a collection of parts required to assemble a product. The parts are typically manufactured in one country or region, and then exported to another country or r ...

(CKD) kits of Volksbus microbus chassis to

2000s

;January 2000: Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles (VWN) of Germany, with

headquarters Headquarters (often referred to as HQ) notes the location where most or all of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. The term is used in a wide variety of situations, including private sector corporations, non-profits, mil ...

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, assumes the responsibility for the Truck and Bus operation ;March 2000: Launching of Series 2000 ;April 2001: For the first time in its 20 years, the Volkswagen Caminhões Ltda becomes leader in the

ian market for

s ;August 2002: Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus has 30% market share of Brazilian market, Brazil is the Number 1 in the world, buyer of Buses and Number 2 for Trucks ;December 2002: Production of 100,000th Volkswagen truck in Resende ;July 2003: Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus participates in the International Rally of the Sertões, with three 8.150 trucks ;October 2003: Announcement of the creation of Volkswagen Truck and Bus Operation in Mexico, construction of an

assembly line An assembly line, often called ''progressive assembly'', is a manufacturing process where the unfinished product moves in a direct line from workstation to workstation, with parts added in sequence until the final product is completed. By mechan ...

starts in the City of Puebla, Mexico ;November 2003: In pioneering research in Brazil, Volkswagen tests a Volksbus powered by

biodiesel Biodiesel is a renewable biofuel, a form of diesel fuel, derived from biological sources like vegetable oils, animal fats, or recycled greases, and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made from fats. The roots of bi ...

with the support of the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro and the UFRJ, in the Riobiodiesel project ;April 2004: Volkswagen 18.310 successful for the first time in the Super European Truck Championship ;July 2004: Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus add three more vehicles in the RioBiodiesel programme ;August 2004: First Volkswagen truck production tests are conducted in the

of Puebla, Mexico ;September 2004: Volkswagen announces construction of plant for Volkswagen Truck and Bus range in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

, South Africa ;October 2004 : The Puebla, Mexican Volkswagen plant officially opens : Volkswagen Titan 18.310 is champion in the Super European Truck Championships in the first year it competes ;October 2005: Beginning of the Volkswagen Truck and Bus operation in South Africa with the production of three Volksbus models ;November 2005: Volkswagen Truck and Bus release

Delivery Delivery may refer to: Biology and medicine *Childbirth *Drug delivery *Gene delivery Business and law *Delivery (commerce), of goods, e.g.: **Pizza delivery ** Milk delivery ** Food delivery ** Online grocer *Deed ("delivery" in contract law), a ...

(5 to 8 tonnes) and

Constellation A constellation is an area on the celestial sphere in which a group of visible stars forms Asterism (astronomy), a perceived pattern or outline, typically representing an animal, mythological subject, or inanimate object. The first constellati ...

(13 to 45 tonnes) lines ;June 2006 : The BMB Mode Centre is opened for specialised modification of Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus range : The Constellation Daycab is released ;September 2006: The top-of-the-line 18.320 VIP Volksbus is released ;February 2007: Release of the 31.320 6x4 Constellation, and 15.190, 17.230 Volksbus line ;8 August 2007: Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus released their most powerful

– the Volkswagen NGD 370 in the Volkswagen Constellation lineup ;22 August 2007: Volkswagen produce the first right hand drive heavy truck in the companies history, with the release of the Volkswagen Constellation range in South Africa ;8 August 2008: Volkswagen releases a new robotised transmission in co-operation with

ZF Friedrichshafen AG ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally ''Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen'' (), and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a Germany, German technology manufacturing company that supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles ...

for the Volksbus range ;15 December 2008: Volkswagen AG sells Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus to

to form MAN Latin America.

2010s

;3 November 2011: Volkswagen AG acquires majority share holding of 55.9% in

, thus officially bringing Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus back into the Volkswagen Group. ;13 September 2017: Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus launches an all new generation of the popular Volkswagen Delivery family.

2020s

;1 September 2020: Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus launches their first heavy duty flagship model, the Volkswagen Meteor. ;31 August 2021: MAN SE is merged with Traton SE, with the latter becoming the new owner and parent of Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus ;18 May 2022: Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus announced it was changing its corporate name to Volkswagen Truck & Bus, one of its parent's former names.

Volkswagen Truck and Bus in motorsports

Volkswagen Caminhões e Ônibus competes in the Brazilian Fórmula Truck championship, with four drivers. The Volkswagen Constellation 18.310 Titan

tractor unit A tractor unit, also known as a truck unit, lorry unit, power unit, prime mover, ten-wheeler, semi-tractor, semi-truck, semi-lorry, tractor cab, truck cab, lorry cab, big rig tractor, big rig truck or big rig lorry or simply a tractor, truck, ...

is used; they are driven by Renato Martins, Felipe Giaffone, Walmir Benavides and Débora Rodrigues. Furthermore, an additional Constellation is used as the official pace truck, driven by Ana Lúcia Lopes.

Current models

* Volkswagen Meteor * Volkswagen Constellation * Volkswagen Delivery * Volkswagen Volksbus

Volkswagen Truck and Bus gallery

File:Vw l80 sst.jpg, Volkswagen L80 1995—2000 File:Caminhaocegonha.jpg, Volkswagen 18.310 Titan Tractor 2001—2005 File:VW Constellation BRA.JPG, Volkswagen Constellation 19.320 Titan Tractor File:MANConstellation.jpg, Volkswagen Constellation Tractor File:Formula Truck 2006 Interlagos Volkswagen leads.jpg,

Brazilian Fórmula Truck in a round at Interlagos in 2006 File:2006 VW Delivery 8-150.jpg, Volkswagen Delivery 8.150 File:Cimento caminhao.JPG, Volkswagen Worker 26-260E (6x4) File:Cidade verde 14170.jpg, Volksbus 17.260 EOT 2005 CAIO—present File:Capital do Vale 3180 - Marcopolo Viale - Volksbus 17.240.JPG, Volksbus 17.240 with a Marcopolo body File:Real 1445 - Marcopolo Torino 7 - Volksbus 17.230 EOD.JPG, Volksbus 17.230 EOD with a Marcopolo body File:Volksbus 18.280 OT LE sugar cane diesel.jpg, Volksbus 18.280 OT

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

-Diesel

References

External links

;official sites
MAN Latin America
international portal
Volkswagen Trucks and Buses Nigeria
official website
Volkswagen Brazil Truck and Bus
official website
MAN Volkswagen Truck and Bus Brazil press site

BMB Mode Center
(VW Trucks and Buses modification branch)

;unaffiliated sites
Volkswagen Trucks in Colombia
{{South American bus builders 1981 establishments in Brazil Traton Brazilian subsidiaries of foreign companies Bus manufacturers of Brazil Truck manufacturers of Brazil Defence companies of Brazil Companies based in Rio de Janeiro (state) Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1981