Mercedes 2003 Annual Report Download - page 61
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Please find page 61 of the 2003 Mercedes annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.In future, the Group’s truck business will be managed and coordi-
nated worldwide by a newly formed Truck Executive Committee.
The new committee will thus create the preconditions for involving
MFTBC and other Asian partners. The previous Truck Product
Decision Committee, which paved the way for centralizing
the management of the Group’s global truck business, will be
subsumed into the new Truck Executive Committee.
In the first nine months of the year beginning April 1, MFTBC
increased unit sales in Japan by 55% to 66,000 vehicles. In January
2004, we agreed with our partners from the Mitsubishi Group
that we would acquire a further 22% of MFTBC.
In mid-2004, the engine joint venture between DaimlerChrysler
and Hyundai Motor, based in Chonju, South Korea, will begin
manufacturing Series 900 engines, and will also commence the
license production of medium-duty transmissions. Negotiations
with Hyundai on the planned commercial-vehicle joint venture are
continuing.
Also strengthening the Group’s presence in Asia was the signing
of a framework agreement between DaimlerChrysler AG and
the Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Company Ltd. (BAIC) in
September 2003. It covers the establishment of a 50-50 joint
venture with Beiqi Foton, whose main shareholder is BAIC. In addition
to medium and heavy-duty trucks, such as the Mercedes-Benz
Actros, this joint venture will manufacture engines and other
components for the Chinese market. Starting in 2005, in cooperation
with our Chinese partner, Fujian Motor Industry Group, and the
Taiwanese China Motor Corporation, we also intend to produce the
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and the new Viano/Vito van family in
China with an annual capacity of 40,000 units.
Reorganization of the global truck business. To support the
implementation of “Global Spark”, the Commercial Vehicles division’s
strategic initiative with the goals of restructuring its business,
exploiting economies of scale, and penetrating Asian markets, the
global truck business was reorganized with effect from January 1,
2004. As a result, the division now comprises four subdivisions:
Trucks, Vans, Buses and Off-Highway. The Trucks subdivision,
which has been given a new structure, consists of three areas: The
newly created 4P functional area will include the worldwide activities
of product planning, product development, production strategy and
planning, and procurement. The “Trucks Europe/Latin America
(Mercedes-Benz)” business unit assumes responsibility for the
Mercedes-Benz brand and the component plants in Europe. The
“Trucks NAFTA (Freightliner, Sterling, Thomas Built Buses)” business
unit will be responsible for the Freightliner, Sterling and Thomas
Built Buses brands, as well as the component plants in North
America. The Mercedes-Benz Vans, DaimlerChrysler Buses and
Coaches and DaimlerChrysler Off-Highway business units will be
unaffected by these changes.
| 5756
501
240
231
28
2
276
102
148
34
26
18
134
115
40
31
29
+3
-2
+9
+13
-29
-4
-2
-9
+2
-19
-21
+14
+15
+10
+4
+25
Unit Sales 20031
1,000 03/02
units in %
Total
of which: Vans 2
Trucks 3
Buses & Coaches
Unimogs
Europe
of which: Germany
Western Europe (excluding Germany)
of which: United Kingdom
France
Italy
NAFTA
of which: United States
South America
of which: Brazil
Asia
1 Wholesale figures (including leased vehicles)
2 Including the Mitsubishi L200 pickup and the Mitsubishi Pajero manufactured in South Africa
3 Including schoolbuses by Thomas Built Buses and bus chassis by Freightliner
The Mercedes-Benz Vito and Mercedes-Benz Viano on the road next to the River Rhine, Germany