STOCKHOLM, April 27 (Reuters) - Truck maker Scania reported first-quarter pretax earnings well ahead of market expectations on Friday and said it continued to see strong demand in its key European market through this year. The firm, which earlier this year escaped a hostile bid by German rival MAN , said pretax profit rose to 3.0 billion Swedish crowns ($445 million) from a year-ago 2.11 billion to come in easily above the 2.49 billion seen in a Reuters poll of 14 analysts.