Mercedes 2008 Annual Report Download - page 96

smart fortwo continues its success story. In 2008, sales of
the smart brand increased significantly to 139,000 units (2007:
103,100). This positive development was due also to the great
success enjoyed by the smart fortwo in the United States, where
27,600 units of the model were sold in its first year on the
market. The US is now the third biggest market for smart, after
Italy (34,600 units) and Germany (31,500).
New urban mobility concepts. During the year under review,
we launched two pioneering projects that will help secure the
future of sustainable mobility in metropolitan areas.
The first, “e-mobility Berlin,” was launched by Daimler and RWE
in September 2008 and is the world’s largest joint project for
climate-friendly electric automobiles. In addition to including all
the components required for the efficient utilization of battery-
electric vehicles, the project underscores Daimler’s commitment
to the establishment of a suitable battery-charging infrastruc-
ture. Daimler is not only contributing more than 100 electric auto-
mobiles to the project from Mercedes-Benz and smart, but is
also servicing the vehicles. The first cars will be in use in Berlin at
the end of 2009. RWE is responsible for developing, creating,
and operating a network of charging stations. Because “e-mobili-
ty Berlin” will play an important role in helping to secure future
mobility, the German government is supporting the project. Elec-
tric smarts will also be deployed in other major cities in Europe
and the US, beginning in early 2010. A total of 100 smart electric
cars have been on the road in customer applications in London
since the end of 2007.
The second innovative project now under way is “car2go,” the
pilot phase of which was launched in Ulm in October 2008. The
car2go project allows simple, flexible, and reasonably priced
mobility with environmentally friendly vehicles. smart fortwo cars
can be rented around the clock throughout the city. Billing is
simple and flexible — drivers are charged only €0.19 per minute
at precise minute-long intervals. Discounts are offered to cus-
tomers who use the cars for longer periods of time. Plans call for
the car2go project to be expanded to other cities upon comple-
tion of the pilot phase in Ulm.
Maybach continues the fascinating tradition of the open-top
landaulet. At the end of 2007, Maybach presented an open-top
concept car known as the Maybach Landaulet. Following an over-
whelming response, the brand began manufacturing the Lan-
daulet according to individual customers’ exclusive requirements
at the start of 2008. The first such vehicle was handed over to
its new owner in November 2008. In total, Maybach delivered 300
luxury automobiles to its customers all over the world in 2008.
Record year for AMG. Our high-performance brand, AMG, cele-
brated the best year in its history in 2008, with unit sales rising
by 19% to 24,200 vehicles. Despite an extremely challenging envi-
ronment, AMG grew in nearly all of its markets, thereby further
consolidating its leading position among high-performance auto-
mobile brands. China and Brazil are among the most important
growth markets for AMG. The brand was also able to buck the trend
in its German home market by selling more cars in 2008, where-
by the new C 63 AMG and the completely revised SL 63 AMG made
a major contribution to this success.
Competitiveness improved by further efficiency gains in pro-
duction. Striving for continuous improvement substantially con-
tributes to the goal of safeguarding the Mercedes-Benz Cars divi-
sion’s long-term competitiveness. We are therefore moving ahead
with our efficiency-enhancement measures, even during phases
featuring lower production volumes. As expressed in hours per
vehicle (HPV), productivity at Mercedes-Benz Cars improved by a
further 8% in 2008, following an improvement of 10% in 2007.
Gradual implementation of the Mercedes-Benz modular system is
Into a green future with electric drive: the smart ed is part of the “e-mobility Berlin” project.
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