Renault expects an annual savings of $200 million to $500 million within five years by integrating its RVI and Mack heavy truck brands in Europe and North America.

The company has developed a plan to produce a common range of truck engines, gearboxes and chassis between RVI — a leading brand in Europe — and Mack in the United States.

In an article for the Financial Times, Patrick Faure, chairman of RVI, said the overhaul was vital if the company was to mount an effective challenge to the two dominant names in the industry: DaimlerChrysler, the German-U.S. group, and the prospective Swedish partnership of Volvo and Scania.
Faure emphasised that the two brands would remain separate while seeking cost savings from common components and platforms. The aim was maximum commonality of components, while keeping the products as different as customers on either side of the Atlantic wanted them. He indicated that some savings would take much less than five years to show through.
As part of the convergence plan with Mack, RVI will implement a new "common" organization Jan. 3 to coordinate engineering, purchasing and project development across the two brands. A push to expand the German heavy truck market, the largest in Europe, is also part of the plan.