Volkswagen's standalone large vehicle division reportedly expects to see a "significant increase" in earnings this year.
Andreas Renschler, chief executive of Volkswagen Truck & Bus, told The Wall Street Journal that the company saw a 4 percent revenue increase and a 27 percent jump in pre-tax profit in 2016, its first year as separate division within Volkswagen Group.
VW Truck & Bus reported a total of 184,000 vehicle sales last year.
Although he did not offer specific goals for the current year, Renschler said that strong sales in Europe and China and improved numbers in Brazil would increase profits again in 2017.
“Brazil has been an important market for us for decades,” Renschler told reporters, according to the Journal. “We expect a slight recovery in Brazil in the second half of the year and a stronger rebound in 2018.”
CFO Matthias Gruendler added that the business plans to spend some $450 million over the next five years in Brazil, which dealt with an economic recession and a political crisis in recent years.
The division also indicated that it plans to unveil its RIO cloud-based service this summer, which would allow customers and partners to connect the company’s trucks to the internet.
