What Is the Scania Logo?
The Scania logo is a griffin's head, taken from the coat of arms of the Swedish province of Skåne, set inside a badge and shown with the name SCANIA. It belongs to Scania, the Swedish maker of trucks, buses and engines based in Södertälje, whose oldest root, the wagon maker Vabis, was founded there in 1891.
The badge's outline goes back to a bicycle part, because one of the two companies behind Scania started out making bicycles. The griffin badge with the name is available as the Scania logo SVG.
Scania Logo Facts
| Designer | Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd (1984 symbol) |
| Introduced | 1984, the griffin's return |
| Symbol | A griffin's head from the arms of Skåne |
| Logo type | Combination mark: griffin badge and the SCANIA name |
| Earlier mark | A griffin's head inside a three-spoke bicycle crank |
| Owner | Scania AB, part of Traton |
What the Scania Logo Means
The griffin stands for the place the name comes from. Scania is the old Latin name of Skåne, the southern Swedish region around Malmö, where Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania was set up in 1900. The company put the griffin's head from Skåne's coat of arms at the centre of its mark.
The ring around it is a memory of the company's first trade. Maskinfabriks-aktiebolaget Scania took over a bicycle works in Malmö, and its logo placed the griffin inside a three-spoke pedal crank. The badge Scania uses since 1984 keeps a shape simplified from that crank, even though the company no longer makes bicycles and is based far from Skåne, in Södertälje.
Scania Logo History
In 1911 the Malmö company merged with Vabis of Södertälje to form Scania-Vabis, which kept the Scania crank-and-griffin logo. It stayed in use for more than five decades.
The crank caused trouble with Daimler-Benz, which argued that it could be confused with the three-pointed star on Mercedes cars. In 1968, the year the company renamed itself simply Scania, the crank was dropped. A year later Scania merged with Saab to form Saab-Scania.
In 1984 the griffin made its comeback, as Saab-Scania went back to using a trademark as its corporate symbol. The new symbol was created by the Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, best known for the sculpture of a revolver with a knotted barrel outside the United Nations in New York.
In 1996 Scania put a four-metre griffin sign on the roof of its head office in Södertälje to help visitors find their way. The sign was taken down for renovation in February 2017 and remounted with an updated version of the symbol.
Scania and Mercedes-Benz
The two truck makers' badges once looked close enough to start a dispute. Scania's three-spoke crank and the Mercedes three-pointed star both put three arms inside a circle, and the conflict with Daimler-Benz led Scania to drop the crank in 1968 (compare the Mercedes-Benz logo).
For more brands like Scania, browse our car logos.
Frequently Asked Questions
What animal is on the Scania logo?
A griffin, a mythical creature with the head of an eagle. Its head comes from the coat of arms of Skåne, the Swedish province that gave Scania its name.
Why does the Scania logo look like a bicycle part?
Scania began as a bicycle maker in Malmö, and its first logo set the griffin inside a three-spoke pedal crank. The modern badge keeps a simplified form of that crank.
Who designed the Scania griffin logo?
The 1984 symbol was created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd.
Why did Scania drop its old crank logo?
Daimler-Benz argued that the crank could be confused with the Mercedes star, and the crank was dropped in 1968.