Scania AB ( , ), stylised SCANIA, is a Swedish manufacturer of heavy trucks, buses and engines headquartered in Södertälje, Sweden. The company develops commercial vehicles for long-distance haulage, construction and regional distribution, as well as engines and power solutions for marine and industrial applications. Scania is a subsidiary of Traton, part of the Volkswagen Group.
In 2025, Scania reported net sales of SEK 198.5 billion and an adjusted operating result of SEK 21.3 billion, corresponding to a return on sales of 10.7%. Deliveries amounted to 94,073 vehicles worldwide. The company employed nearly 53,000 people and operated in more than 100 countries. During the year, 602 zero-emission vehicles were delivered.
Scania operates production facilities in Europe, South America and Asia, and inaugurated a manufacturing hub in Rugao, China in October 2025. Its global operations include vehicle assembly, component manufacturing and financial services.
In 2025, Scania published its first Sustainability Statement aligned with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) under the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
It was listed on the NASDAQ OMX Stockholm stock exchange from 1996 until its delisting in 2014.
Scania's logo shows a griffin, from the coat of arms of the province of Scania ().
History
Vabis and Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania
AB Scania-Vabis was established in 1911 as the result of a merger between Södertälje-based Vabis and Malmö-based Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania. Vagnfabriks Aktiebolaget i Södertelge (Vabis) was established as a railway car manufacturer in 1891, while Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania was established as a bicycle manufacturer in 1900. Both companies had tried their luck at building automobiles, trucks and engines, but with varied success. In 1910, Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania had succeeded in constructing reliable vehicles, while Vabis was at the brink of closing down. An offer from Per Alfred Nordeman, managing director of Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania, to steel manufacturer Surahammars Bruk, owner of Vabis, led to an agreement in November 1910, and in 1911 the merger was a reality.
Development and production of engines and light vehicles were set to Södertälje, while trucks were manufactured in Malmö. The company's logo was redesigned from Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania's original logo with the head of a griffin, the coat of arms of the Swedish region Scania (Skåne), centered on a three-spoke bicycle chainset. Initially the headquarters were located in Malmö, but in 1912 they were moved to Södertälje.
First World War and 1920s Because there were many inexpensive, imported cars in Sweden at the time, Scania-Vabis decided to build high-class, luxury cars, for instance the type III limousine from 1920 that had a top hat holder in the roof. Prince Carl of Sweden owned a 1913 Scania-Vabis 3S, a type which was fitted with in-car buttons so the passenger could communicate with the driver. Scania-Vabis also built two-seat sports cars (or "sportautomobil").
For the next few years the company's profits stagnated, with around a third of their orders coming from abroad. The outbreak of the First World War, however, changed the company, with almost all output being diverted to the Swedish Army. By 1916, Scania-Vabis was making enough profit to invest in redeveloping both of their production facilities.
Following the war, in 1919, Scania decided to focus completely on building trucks, abandoning other outputs including cars and buses. However, the post-war market was affected by an influx of surplus military vehicles, and by 1921 the company had declared bankruptcy.
After some economic difficulties in 1921, new capital came from Stockholms Enskilda Bank owned by the Wallenberg family, and Scania-Vabis became a solid and technically, high standing, company.
Denmark Towards the end of 1913, the company established a subsidiary in Denmark. The following year the first Danish-built car, a four-seater Phaeton, was built at the company's Frederiksberg factory in Copenhagen. In 1914, the factory produced Denmark's first Scania-Vabis truck, and following this developed a V8 engine, one of the first in the world. In 1921, having sold around 175 trucks, and 75 cars, ... the Danish operation was closed down.
Norway In 1917 an agreement was established with the newly formed Norwegian company Norsk Automobilfabrik A/S about production under license of Scania-Vabis cars and lorries. Production began in 1919, but was ended in 1921 after production of only 77 lorries, mostly built from Swedish produced parts.
1930s and 1940s During the Second World War, Scania produced a variety of military vehicles for the Swedish Army, including Stridsvagn m/41 light tanks produced under licence.
1950s and 1960s During the 1950s, the company expanded its operations into new customer segments, becoming agents for the Willys Jeep and the Volkswagen Beetle, the latter being very profitable for Scania-Vabis. It also started to become a genuine competitor to Volvo with their new L71 Regent truck which was introduced in 1954.
During this period, Scania-Vabis expanded its dealer network and country-wide specialist workshop facilities. By the end of the 1950s, their market-share in Sweden was between 40 and 50%, and was achieving 70% in the heaviest truck sector – helped by the entrepreneurial efforts of their dealers into the haulier market.
Probably their largest impact was in export markets. Before 1950, exports accounted for only 10 percent of production output, but a decade later, exports were at 50% of output. Beers in the Netherlands became a very important partner. Beers became official importers for Scania-Vabis in the Netherlands, and established a dealer network, along with training programmes for both mechanics and drivers. Beers also offered free twice-yearly overhauls of their customers vehicles, and offered a mobile service throughout the Netherlands with their custom-equipped service trucks. Due to Beers concerted efforts, Scania-Vabis market share in the country remained at a consistent 20% throughout this period. Scania-Vabis were to adopt the business model of Beers in their own overseas sales operations.
The 1960s saw Scania-Vabis expanding its production operations into overseas locations. Until now, all Scania-Vabis production had been carried out solely at Södertälje, but the 1960s saw the need to expand production overseas. Brazil was becoming a notable market for heavy trucks, and was also dependent on inter-urban buses, with particular requirement for Brazil's mountainous roads which became nigh-on impassable at times. On 2 July 1957, Brazilian subsidiary Scania-Vabis do Brasil S.A. (today known as Scania Latin America Ltda.) was established and started assembling some vehicles themselves in 1958. On 29 May 1959, a new engine plant was inaugurated in the Ipiranga district of São Paulo, and from June 1960, Scania-Vabis do Brasil assembled all vehicles themselves. Scania-Vabis vehicles had already been assembled in Brazil by a local company called Vemag (Veículos e Máquinas Agrícolas S.A.) for several years. Scania-Vabis established its first full manufacturing plant outside Södertälje, by building a new facility in São Bernardo do Campo near São Paulo, which was opened on 8 December 1962, and this was to set the standard for Scania-Vabis international operations.
Closer to home, the recently formed European Economic Community (EEC) offered further opportunities. Based on their now strong presence in the Dutch markets, Scania-Vabis constructed a new plant in Zwolle, which was completed in 1964. This new Dutch facility provided Scania-Vabis with a stepping stone into the other five EEC countries, particularly the German and French markets.
In 1966, Scania-Vabis acquired ownership of a then valuable supplier – Be-Ge Karosserifabrik, who were based in Oskarshamn. Be-Ge had been making truck cabs since 1946, and had been supplying cabs not only to Scania-Vabis, but also to their Swedish competitors Volvo. It was normal practice for truck manufacturers to outsource production of cabs to independent bodybuilders, so their acquisition by Scania-Vabis seemed a good move. Be-Ge owner Bror Göthe Persson had also established an additional cab factory at Meppel.
Scania-Vabis continued their expansion of production facilities through acquisitions. In 1967, they acquired Katrineholm based coachwork company Svenska Karosseriverkstäderna (SKV), and created a new subsidiary, Scania-Bussar. A year later, all bus production, along with R&D was moved to Katrineholm. Further production locations were added at Sibbhult and Falun, and Scania's employee numbers rose, particularly at Södertälje, which was to help double the town's population.
Scania-Vabis at some point in their history also manufactured trucks in Botswana, Brazil, South-Korea, Tanzania, the Netherlands, Zimbabwe and the United States.
For some time Daimler-Benz waged a 'logo war' with Scania-Vabis, claiming a possible confusion between the Scania-Vabis 'pedal crank' design featuring on Scania bicycles around 1900 and the Mercedes 'three-pointed star'. In 1968, Daimler-Benz won and the Scania-Vabis logo changed to a simple griffin's head on a white background.
In February 1968, a new range of trucks was launched, and at the same time the company was rebranded as just Scania. In addition to Vabis disappearing from the name and a new logo, all current models received new model designations.
1970s and 1980s
In 1976, the Argentine industrial complex was launched. A few months later, on 10 September, the first gearbox outside of Sweden was manufactured and finally in December an L111 truck became the first Scania made in Argentina. Soon the plant specialised in the production of gearboxes, axles and differentials that equipped both the units produced in Tucumán and those built in Brazil.
Also in Argentina, in 1982 the Series 2 was launched as part of the "Scania Program", consisting of the T-112 and R-112 trucks with two cab versions and different options in engine and load capacity. In 1983, was launched the K112 made in Tucuman (like the rest models) for replace the BR-116.
In mid-1985 Scania entered the US market for the first time (aside from having sold 12,000 diesel engines installed in Mack trucks from 1962 until 1975), starting modestly with a goal of 200 trucks in all of 1987 (121 trucks were sold during calendar year 1986). Scania limited their marketing to New England, where conditions resemble those in Europe more closely.
Many examples of Scania, Vabis and Scania-Vabis commercial and military vehicles can be seen at the Marcus Wallenberg-hallen (the Scania Museum) in Södertälje.
Presidents and CEOs Leif Östling (1994–2012) Martin Lundstedt (2012–2015)
Henrik Henriksson (2016–2021)
Christian Levin (2021–present)
Ownership
Saab-Scania AB (1969–1995) On 1 September 1969, Scania merged with Saab AB, and formed Saab-Scania AB. When Saab-Scania was split in 1995, the name of the truck and bus division changed simply to Scania AB. One year later, Scania AB was introduced on the stock exchange, which resulted in a minor change of name to Scania AB (publ).
Aborted Volvo takeover On 7 August 1999, Volvo announced it had agreed to acquire a majority share in Scania. Volvo was to buy the 49.3% stake in Scania that was owned by Investor AB, Scania's then main shareholder. The acquisition, for US$7.5 billion (60.7 billion SEK), would have created the world's second-largest manufacturer of heavy trucks, behind DaimlerChrysler. The cash for the deal was to come from the sale of Volvo's car division to Ford Motor Company in January 1999.
The merger failed, after the European Union disapproved, announcing one company would have almost 100% market share in the Nordic markets.
Aborted MAN takeover