Arquus, the French manufacturer of wheeled armoured fighting vehicles and logistics platforms, experienced better than expected 2020 sales despite the Covid-19 pandemic and is targeting revenues of EUR1 billion (USD1.19 billion) by 2030.
Arquus chief executive officer (CEO) Emmanuel Levacher said at a press briefing on 10 March that sales fell 10% in 2020 compared with the prior year. A deeper fall was averted by strong growth in domestic market sales, with 23% growth in business originating from French requirements. Levacher conceded, however, that 2020 had been a weaker year in terms of exports.
He also noted that 2019 had been a record year for Arquus, and that 2020 sales remain ahead of those of 2018 and 2017.
Arquus, owned by Volvo Group, does not routinely release financial information but reports that annual sales are in the region of EUR600 million per annum.
The company manufactured and delivered 1,166 new vehicles during 2020 despite restrictions on work practices applicable during the year.
The majority of that figure comes from the unarmoured VT4 4×4 support vehicle to the French Army, 1,000 of which were delivered in 2020, bringing the total delivered to 2,000. In addition, at least 40 modernised Véhicule de l'Avant Blindé (VAB) SAN CIED armoured medical vehicles, with counter improvised explosive device (IED) protection, have been delivered to French armed forces, Levacher said.
The company also completed deliveries of 300 Sherpa light vehicles to Kuwait in December 2020, and 40 of its 4×4 Bastion protected mobility vehicles, as well as logistics trucks, to the G5 countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger) that operate alongside French and other forces in the Sahel region.
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