Mercedes 1998 Annual Report Download - page 43

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COMMERCIAL VEHICLES
39
Freightliner and Sterling, our truck brands in North
America, have now been joined by another strong
partner: the Thomas Built Buses Corporation, one of the
leading manufacturers of school bus assemblies.
America. The new Sterling brand, introduced to the market
after the acquisition of the heavy-duty trucks segment from
Ford Motor Co. in the spring of 1998, contributed substantially
to Freightliner's growth. The new heavy Freightliner Argosy
cabover truck was also received extremely well in the market.
Freightliner sold a total of 128,000 commercial vehicles in 1998
(1997: 89,400 units) and reinforced its position as the leading
manufacturer of heavy-duty trucks in North America. Among
Class 8 trucks (over 15 tons), the combined market share of
Freightliner and Sterling in the United States reached 31.3%
(1997: 28.2%). Business was especially favorable for medium-
duty trucks in Classes 6 to 7 (8.8 to 15 tons). In this segment,
sales in the United States soared by 84% to a total of 25,600
vehicles, and the market share reached 18.2% (1997: 11.7%).
The purchase of Thomas Built Buses Corporation was an
important milestone in DaimlerChrysler’s strategy to become
a leading manufacturer in the medium-duty commercial vehicle
segment in North America and to further strengthen its posi-
tion in the bus business. Thomas Built Buses, headquartered
in North Carolina, holds a 33% market share and is one of the
leading manufacturers of school bus assemblies in North
America.
Mercedes-Benz Mexico S.A. increased production to 9,800
commercial vehicles in 1998 (1997: 6,400 units), most
of which were exported to the United States and Canada.
SPRINTER REMAINS SALES LEADER IN LATIN AMERICA.
We continued to optimize the structure of the Commercial
Vehicles Latin America unit in 1998. The production company
in Brazil now concentrates on assembling truck and bus
chassis, while van production for South America is consolid-
ated in Argentina.
Despite a difficult economic environment, the business unit was
able to increase sales by 1% after the high level of the previous
year to more than 57,000 commercial vehicles. Here the market
success of the Sprinter van series produced by Mercedes-Benz
Argentina was decisive, and nearly, 15,000 units were sold.
We also maintained our leading position in Brazil in the segment
of trucks over 6 tons and buses with market shares of approx-
imately 36% and 64% respectively. In Argentina, the market
share for trucks over 6 tons rose to 37% and 15% for vans.
IMPORTANT PROJECTS IN ASIA. The People’s Republic of
China is a market with tremendous growth potential for the
bus business in particular. A key project for DaimlerChrysler
is the Yaxing-Benz joint venture, which was founded in March
1997 with Jiangsu-Yaxing Motor Coach Group in Yangzhou.
It produces buses and chassis under the Yaxing and Mercedes-
Benz brands. The components for the bus chassis are supplied
by Mercedes-Benz do Brasil among others. Furthermore,
a partnership to jointly develop and produce a new light-duty
truck was agreed with Nissan Diesel in 1998.
Units ('000) 98:97 (in %)
World
of which Vans
(incl. V-Class)
Pick-ups
Trucks
Buses
Unimog
Europe
of which Germany
Western Europe
(excl. Germany)
North America
of which U.S.A.
Latin America (excl. Mexico)
of which Brazil
Asia
+17
+12
+.
+23
+6
–7
+8
+11
+12
+46
+49
+5
+5
+11
490
217
4
234
33
3
277
107
148
126
108
58
39
12
Sales 1998