Volvo Penta, Yamaha to increase collaborations

Manufacturing & Fabrication
Volvo Penta, Yamaha to increase collaborations

Boating Industry
Friday February 18, 2011



MIAMI — AB Volvo Penta and Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. have set up joint working groups to evaluate the potential for deeper collaboration between the companies, the companies announced in a joint press conference at the Miami Boat Show.

This agreement is in addition to the technological collaboration plan the two groups signed on Dec. 6, 2010. The original collaboration was designed to produce technological synergies in the increasingly important field of electronics. Now, the companies have decided to take things further and conduct joint studies on ways to further extend cooperation.

“Volvo Penta is a world leader when it comes to marine power systems. Yamaha Motor is a world leader in the outboard engine business. Our customer offerings complement one another, so we see tremendous potential for extending our cooperation with a view to creating the marine world’s most powerful combination,” said Volvo Penta’s President and CEO, Göran Gummeson.

The collaboration between Volvo Penta and Yamaha Motor will not include ownership but is based exclusively on collaboration in different areas in which the companies see opportunities for cooperation as a result of complementary customer offerings.

Service, logistics and aftermarket are other areas in which the companies said they would like to look at opportunities for extended collaboration. Volvo Penta currently offers global marine service via a dealer network of 4,000. Yamaha Motor is represented in more than 180 countries and regions worldwide.

The existing technological collaboration will result in the companies utilizing common electronic platforms, thereby creating the potential for synergies in terms of diagnostic tools, skills, standardization and aftermarket services.

“We hope that an extended collaboration with Volvo Penta, in which we will benefit from the strengths of both companies, will enable us to create a long-term, competitive alliance with unique opportunities to tackle the challenges facing the marine industry,” said Takaaki Kimura, Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer of Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.

Volvo Penta’s and Yamaha Motors’ joint working groups are expected to be appointed in February.