GUADALAJARA, MEXICO -- Amid much fanfare Tuesday evening in front of trucking press from both the United States and Mexico at the Expo Transporte trucking show in Guadalajara, Mexico, Volvo Trucks North America officially introduced its I-Shift automated manual transmissions for the Mexican market. At the same time, it rolled out a truck model from sister company Mack to address the country's on-highway market.

The move is part of Volvo's strategy to boost its presence in the country from a more than 9% market share this year to 15% by 2015.

The first fleet to take delivery on the transmissions is Mexico City-based Transportes Monroy Schiavon. When delivery is complete, TMS will have 100 VNL models in its fleet of around 500 trucks. It has already been testing some trucks with the transmission.

“We are here to grow our business and to help the transport industry in Mexico,” said Göran Nyberg, Volvo Trucks president of North American sales and marketing. He stressed the Mexican market is one of the keys to success for Volvo’s North American truck operations.

Meantime, Mack Trucks entered the on-highway market in Mexico for the first time with its Vision model. The company has been in Mexico in the vocational market for some time.

“We are excited about opportunities the Mexican market presents and we believe we are positioned for success,” said John Walsh, vice president of marketing at Mack.

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