Mercedes 2004 Annual Report Download - page 68

Sales up sharply in North America. Thanks to positive market
developments, the Trucks NAFTA business unit (Freightliner,
Sterling, Thomas Built Buses) was able to increase its truck sales
in the 2004 financial year by 28% to 152,400 vehicles.
In the NAFTA region, the Freightliner, Sterling and Western Star
brands saw sales of Class 8 vehicles (heavy-duty trucks over 15
metric tons gross vehicle weight) rise to 87,700 units (2003:
67,700). Market share fell, however, to 35% (2003: 38%), due to
production bottlenecks and the discontinuation of insufficiently
profitable fleet-management contracts. Despite this fall, the busi-
ness unit retained its undisputed position as the market leader.
Sales volume in an expanding market was also much improved for
vehicles in Classes 5-7 (medium-duty trucks), where 50,500
units were sold (+18%). Market share was at 25% (2003: 26%).
Meanwhile, the introduction of the new Saf-T-Liner school bus
has allowed the Trucks NAFTA business unit to secure its strong
position in the school-bus market.
During the year under review, the business unit started
assembling axles in the NAFTA region that share many parts with
the axles produced in Europe. This is a further step toward
achieving economies of scale through the common use of parts
and components.
Following the successful conclusion of the restructuring measures,
the business unit launched a process-and-quality offensive with
a program known as “Total Business Excellence”. The aim of this
program is to improve product and service quality and to further
optimize internal processes and thus to improve earning power.
Mitsubishi Fuso strengthens its position in Asia. Following the
acquisition of a 43% shareholding in Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and
Bus Corporation (MFTBC) in 2003, DaimlerChrysler increased its
share in the company by a further 22% in March 2004. Since
DaimlerChrysler now owns a 65% stake in the company, MFTBC
has been fully consolidated within the division since March 31,
2004, with a one-month time lag. MFTBC is included in the
overall results with unit sales of 118,100 trucks and buses,
of which 39,000 were sold in the company’s home market of
Japan and 79,100 in other markets.
As expected, Japan’s commercial vehicle market contracted last
year, following a sharp rise in demand in 2003 as a result of
special factors. These factors included a new regulation that took
effect on January 1, 2004, stipulating that only environmentally
friendly trucks are allowed to drive into major cities. Partly as
a result of market developments, but also due to a number of
re-calls and the associated delays in approvals of vehicle changes
by local authorities, Mitsubishi Fuso’s share of the Japanese
market for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks in Japan fell to
25% (2003: 28%).
In 2004, the introduction of a new quality-management system
and subsequent in-depth investigations revealed that vehicles
manufactured by MFTBC in the past did not meet quality standards.
These deficiencies originated exclusively in the period before
DaimlerChrysler acquired a stake in MFTBC. Approximately
960,000 vehicles are affected by the quality problems in Japan.
MFTBC expects that most of the faults can be rectified in 2005.
Higher sales figures for the Vans business unit. The Vans
business unit posted sales of 260,700 vehicles in 2004 (2003:
230,900). The 13% sales increase was primarily due to the
success of the Sprinter, the Vito and the Viano, which were in
great demand in all key regions. In 2004, we expanded our
market leadership in Western Europe with an 18% share of the
medium and large van segments (2003: 17%).
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