Big wheels

MAN chief Hakan Samuelsson resigned to bring a "fresh start" at the highest levels of the DAX-listed company, according to a statement released by MAN on Monday. The company had over 50,000 employees and 15 billion euros worth of sales last year.

Samuelsson's resignation comes as Volkswagen and Scania hope to complete a heavy truck alliance to cut costs at a time when profits in the sector have dragged down by falling trade.

Volkswagen already owns a controlling stake in Scania and holds about 30 percent of MAN. In turn, MAN also holds about 17 percent of Scania. Samuelsson had been opposed to a takeover of MAN by Scania and VW.

"With Samuelsson leaving that means one roadblock [to a merger] is gone," said Unicredit analyst Christian Aust, who cautioned that VW's ongoing acquisition of Porsche means that it won't be able to focus much attention on MAN.

"There is no pressure to start deeper cooperation right away," Aust told Deutsche Welle. "Volkswagen has some issues of its own right now."

Bribery scandal continues to haunt MAN

In September, Volkswagen head Ferdinand Piech said such a tie-up would save over a billion euros annually - crucial at a time when truck sales remain weak after a dramatic shrinkage of world trade due to the financial crisis and worldwide recession.

During MAN's most recent annual meeting, Samuelsson said truck orders had fallen 21 percent as customers refrained from purchasing expensive trucks that may not have enough cargo to haul.

Although Samuelsson's resistance to a deal with VW is cited as one likely reason for his departure, Unicredit's Aust said a bribery scandal which has engulfed MAN could also be part of his surprise departure.

An investigation launched last spring by Munich prosecutors suggests the company may have paid out millions of euros in illegal kickbacks to customers to secure contracts. MAN's supervisory board is scheduled to meet December 11 to review the accusations, Aust said.

Samuelsson's resignation was "completely without warning, which points to possible tensions with the supervisory board," Aust said.

Did VW push Samuelsson out?

Other analysts say VW's powerful chairman may have helped push 58-year-old Samuelsson from his perch.

"One shouldn't underestimate Piech's role in all of this," Ferdinand Dudenhoeffer, director of the Center for Automotive Research in Duisburg told Bloomberg News.

Earlier this year, Piech was instrumental in toppling Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and swooping in to take over the sports-car maker.

A new global trucking giant

Aust said a merger would be "a big step forward" in creating a firm with the heft to rival market leaders Daimler and Volvo both within Europe and beyond.

"We've had this discussion (about merging MAN and Scania) for years," he said, adding that with worldwide emissions regulations getting stricter, the cost to develop new engines and vehicles is becoming too high for smaller companies to bear alone.

"The question really is when," Aust said, saying that Volkswagen wasn't scheduled to fully digest its acquisition of Porsche before 2011 and that a deeper tie-up with MAN might be possible after that.

MAN, Scania and VW have a long history with one another. In 2006, Samuelsson, who worked at Scania for 23 years before moving to MAN, tried to take over his former employer. The effort failed and instead Scania sought the protection of VW.

Reporter: Brett Neely
Editor: Sam Edmonds