The French military vehicle manufacturer Arquus and the German commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler Truck want to work closely together on a project-specific basis. This partnership serves the strategic cooperation beyond the two companies’ own business activities and includes joint vehicle development, production, sales and services in the area of military wheeled vehicles.
The two companies aim to develop tailored products and processes to better meet the needs of customers in the defence sector, with a particular focus on contributing to the future modernization of the French Army’s fleet of logistics trucks. To this end, Arquus and Daimler Truck combine their expertise and capabilities across their sites in France and Germany.
“This partnership will take us forward together. Both companies know the needs of armed forces inside out and will also benefit from each other's many years of experience. This will have a positive impact on joint vehicle development, synergies in the area of production expertise and optimized service for our customers.” Said Emmanuel Levacher, CEO Arquus.
“I am delighted about the partnership with Arquus, a company that has a lot of experience and expertise in the field of military commercial vehicles. What goes well together grows together here: our companies have been producing in France and Germany for a long time, our products are highly compatible, our approaches, ideas and goals in the defence sector overlap. Now we are combining our strengths with regard to military commercial vehicles and, in close cooperation, we want to make a decisive contribution to the defence readiness of our two countries,” said Daniel Zittel, Head of Defence Sales, Daimler Truck.
Arquus and Daimler Truck maintain their relevant production sites for Defence vehicle production in France and Germany. The French military specialist produces exclusively in the country of its headquarters, which is located in Versailles. Arquus’ production facilities are in Garchizy and Limoges, in the center of France. Daimler Truck assembles its Defence vehicles in Wörth am Rhein, near the French border, and in its plant in Molsheim (Alsace, France). The Molsheim plant is integrated into Daimler Truck’s industrial operations in France, which employ over 3,000 people in total. In the future, the Franco-German partner project should also contribute to strengthen the locations in the neighboring countries.
Arquus is a French defense company, an expert in protected mobility and a European leader in the design, production, and maintenance of armored vehicles, integrated into the John Cockerill industrial group since July 2024. A long-standing partner of the French Armed Forces, having designed and produced 90% of the French Army’s wheeled vehicles, Arquus is actively contributing to the development of military forces through the SCORPION program, placing soldier safety at the heart of its research.
A designer of durable armored vehicles, Arquus is the creator of iconic vehicles such as the SHERPA, VAB, BASTION, and VLRA. With a fleet of nearly 30,000 vehicles in service across five continents, 22,000 of which are directly supported by its teams, Arquus is committed to providing reliable, high-performance defense solutions tailored to the strategic challenges of today and tomorrow. Developing autonomous military platforms suited to all theaters of operation, Arquus creates custom solutions by anticipating the needs of ground forces every day. Arquus is also a systems integrator and creator through its business unit HORNET, which produces the remote-controlled turrets for the SCORPION program.
With a range of security and defense solutions, from heavy armored vehicles to remote-controlled robots, Arquus is shaping custom solutions for the future of land defense.
Daimler Truck Holding AG (“Daimler Truck”) is one of the world’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, with over 40 main locations and more than 100,000 employees around the globe. The founders of Daimler Truck created the modern transport industry with their trucks and busses a good 125 years ago. Unchanged to this day, the Company’s aspirations are dedicated to one purpose: Daimler Truck works for all who keep the world moving. Its customers enable people to be mobile and get goods to their destinations reliably, on time, and safely. Daimler Truck provides the technologies, products, and services for them to do so. This also applies to the transformation to CO2-neutral driving. The company is striving to make sustainable transport a success, with profound technological knowledge and a clear view of its customers’ needs.
Daimler Truck’s business activities are structured in five reporting segments: Trucks North America (TN) with the truck brands Freightliner and Western Star and the school bus brand Thomas Built Buses. Trucks Asia (TA) with the FUSO and RIZON commercial vehicle brands. Mercedes-Benz Trucks (MBT) with the truck brand of the same name and BharatBenz. Daimler Busses (DB) with the Mercedes-Benz and Setra brand busses. Daimler Truck’s new Financial Services business (DTFS) constitutes the fifth segment.
The product range in the truck segments includes light, medium and heavy trucks for longdistance, distribution and construction traffic and special-purpose vehicles used mainly in the municipal and vocational sector. The product range of the bus segment includes city buses, school buses and intercity buses, coaches and bus chassis. In addition to the sale of new and used commercial vehicles, the company also offers aftersales services and connectivity solutions.
