Volkswagen Truck & Bus to be renamed Traton

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Volkswagen <VOWG_p.DE> will rename its Truck & Bus division Traton Group as it prepares to raise funds for global expansion in commercial vehicles.

VW Truck & Bus CEO Andreas Renschler said the new brand name gave the group a new separate identity from parent Volkswagen Group.

"It will increase our attractiveness for new talents as well as for capital markets," Renschler said in a statement on Wednesday.

Volkswagen Truck & Bus is integrating the MAN and Scania divisions and has taken a stake in U.S. truckmaker Navistar <NAV.N> to challenge rivals Daimler <DAIGn.DE> and Volvo <VOLVb.ST>.

Last week Volkswagen Truck & Bus appointed mergers and acquisitions specialist Christian Schulz as its new finance chief and converted itself into a stock corporation, making it easier for VW to issue shares.

Volkswagen has said it was considering a listing or partial listing of the trucks division, but that this would not happen in 2018.

On Tuesday it said it was exploring an alliance in the area of commercial vehicles with Ford Motor Co <F.N>.

The name change at Truck & Bus will take effect by the third quarter of this year, the company said.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Maria Sheahan)