DLA Piper advises Daimler Truck on digital transformation joint venture with Volvo Group

DLA Piper has advised Daimler Truck on a joint venture with Volvo Group to develop a common software-defined vehicle platform and a dedicated truck operating system that will form the basis for future software-defined commercial vehicles in Gothenburg, Sweden. Following the signing of the investment agreement in October last year, the transaction was successfully completed on June 2, 2025.

The software-defined vehicle platform will enable Daimler Truck and Volvo Group and potential future customers, the ability to provide stand-alone digital vehicle functions for their products. The joint venture will focus on specifying and procuring centralised, high-performance control units for commercial vehicles that can handle large amounts of data. This decouples the software and hardware development cycles and enables customers to purchase and update digital applications wirelessly and ultimately enhances customer efficiency and experience.

A cross-border, multi-practice DLA Piper team from offices in the US, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands worked on the transaction co-led by Corporate/M&A partners Tim Arndt and Benjamin Parameswaran. They were supported by counsel Sophie von Mandelsloh and associate Lea Reifers (both Corporate/M&A) in the core team.

The team also comprised partners Burkhard Führmeyer, Sylvia Ebersberger (both IPT), Justus Herrlinger (Lit&Reg), Mathias Berggren and Richard Fens (both Corporate/M&A), and Johan Zetterström (Employment), legal director Jacklynn Everduim (Employment), counsel Eike Bodo Matthes, senior associates Marisa Machacek (both IPT), Louisa Arlette Maier-Witt (Lit&Reg), Mikael Hagström (Corporate/M&A), and associates Philipp Lutz (IPT), and Ida Hedlund (Employment).

The Daimler Truck legal team was led by Oliver Haakshorst (Legal M&A Cooperations) and comprised Keshia-Sue Körper (Legal M&A Cooperations) and Thomas Scherzler (IP). The in-house M&A team for this transaction was led by Heiko Zimmermann (M&A).