CEO comment - First quarter 2026

The outbreak of war in the Middle East during the first quarter marked a significant escalation in the geopolitical turbulence we have seen over several years. The Iran conflict increased economic volatility, affecting both access to energy and global supply chains. This has added further complexity to an already uncertain business landscape.

Despite this challenging backdrop, Scania performed well during the quarter, demonstrated by the strong momentum of our service business and a solid truck order intake. Over the past year, Scania has focused on building resilience – including establishing our presence in China and adapting our business to improve speed, efficiency and cost-competitiveness. While we are not fully satisfied with sales in the first quarter, as flow constraints limited delivery volumes, I believe our underlying performance  shows that this strategy is beginning to pay off, providing the resilience to successfully navigate a volatile operating environment.

Overall, we saw encouraging demand signals during the first three months of 2026, mainly driven by Europe. Following the outbreak of the Iran war, however, uncertainty increased and we are seeing more cautious customer behaviour, with extended decision cycles in several markets.

Total truck order intake for Scania increased during the quarter, mainly driven by Brazil, where a subsidised loan programme for fleet renewal supported demand. In Europe, the year started strongly, but order intake softened towards the end of the quarter as uncertainty increased.

I am encouraged by the progress of our new industrial hub in China, where key milestones included the start of deliveries of NEXT ERA, our new tractor brand designed specifically for the Chinese market. Initial deliveries were made in March and customer feedback has been confirming the outstanding fuel efficiency.

Scania’s market share in Europe for heavy trucks remained high at 17.6 percent in the first three months of 2026, confirming our strong position in the market.

Order intake for buses and coaches was negatively affected by the economic situation in Brazil. However, I am particularly pleased that Scania secured an order for more than 90 battery-electric buses from the Finnish transport company VR Sverige AB, which will operate in the Södertälje area, in Scania’s home town.

Power Solutions showed strong momentum in order intake, driven by an increased demand in the defence segment, continued strength in the marine segment and a recovery in the industrial segment, as well as a pre-buy effect ahead of Scania’s engine platform transition this year.

Our Services business continued to perform strongly during the quarter. In the Latin American region, we saw positive momentum, particularly in our customer workshop service and in mining-driven markets. In Europe, our Service 360 offering continued to gain traction, becoming the base for all our contracted service offering. We recently also launched Service 360 for our Battery Electric Vehicles as well as for our rolling fleet of used combustion engine trucks in Europe.

In turbulent times, staying close to our customers remains our top priority. We support them through their challenges, with financing playing a critical role. Our financial services business delivered a solid overall performance, although in some markets it was affected by customer cash flow constraints driven by rising fuel costs. We are building on this momentum across the Group, as TRATON Financial Services (TFS) expands its global financing capabilities by leveraging Scania Financial Services’ infrastructure to serve all TRATON brands in new markets, most recently with the additions of Belgium and Lithuania.

Truck deliveries (unit sales) declined compared to the same period last year as constraints in delivery flows limited volumes to customers. Deliveries of buses and coaches declined, mainly due to the economic situation in Brazil, while Power Solutions deliveries increased.

Our services businesses continued to perform strongly, providing the resilience needed to offset lower vehicle deliveries. Service revenue growth was supported by our strong service portfolio, an aging fleet, high vehicle utilisation and sustained customer focus on uptime and cost control, with postponed fleet renewals further underpinning maintenance demand across most markets.

As a result of lower unit sales, which was only partly offset by the continued strength of our service business, revenue declined by eight percent to SEK 44.9 (48.9) billion compared with the same quarter last year. Despite lower unit sales and negative currency effect, we were able to keep the level of profitability as last year same period, thanks to improvements in cost efficiency and profit resilience from our service business.

2026 marks the 50th anniversary of our presence in Argentina – a milestone in Scania’s long relationship with Latin America. Over five decades, our industrial operations in Tucumán have developed into a key part of our global industrial system, and together with our commercial and service operations across the country, demonstrating the resilience and adaptability of our business across economic cycles. Argentina is one of our key markets in Latin America, and I’m proud of the strong relationships we have built with customers in the region.

Road safety is a cornerstone of a sustainable transport system for us at Scania, so I am extremely proud that our L-series cab was awarded the highest possible five-star safety rating in Euro NCAP’s Safer Trucks programme. The rating reflects our continued commitment to protecting all road users and advancing safety standards in the industry.

The current geopolitical situation has brought renewed focus on energy security and the resilience of energy systems. In this context, I believe the transition towards low-carbon transport solutions becomes even more important.

As a result of the war in Iran and rising fuel costs, customer interest in BEV solutions is stronger than ever. I urge governments and policymakers to choose the right path forward: not by lowering taxes on fossil fuels, but by fully supporting the transition to a sustainable, electrified transport system. That means widespread investments in infrastructure, combined with policies and regulations that give customers a clear business case to switch to electric. Our BEV solutions are ready to scale – and with these enabling conditions in place, Scania is well positioned to accelerate the transition.

The transition to sustainable transport is a global challenge, but solving it begins at a local level. Transport needs vary significantly by region and for transport solutions to be effective, they must be tailored to specific market conditions and customer realities.

That is why we are bringing our dialogue closer to the markets we serve. By working directly with customers, partners and policymakers, we can better understand local challenges and turn them into concrete, scalable solutions. This year, we continue this work through our Sustainable Transport Forums, starting in Paris in May and followed by Oslo in September, with more markets to come.

In an increasingly uncertain business environment, the conditions that once supported continuous growth can no longer be taken for granted. Building long-term resilience is critical. This requires continuous improvement, a strong focus on customer value, and ongoing efforts to eliminate waste and improve how we operate.

Having stabilised our operations during 2025, our focus in 2026 is increasingly on execution – improving efficiency, strengthening our cost competitiveness and increasing speed across the organisation. Over the past year, we have taken important steps to strengthen our industrial system, expand our presence in key markets such as China, and adapt our organisation to improve speed and efficiency.

With these foundations in place, and guided by the Scania Way, I have every confidence that we can navigate volatility and continue to drive the shift towards a sustainable transport system.