Mercedes 2009 Annual Report Download - page 118

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At Mercedes-Benz Vans, the positive sales trend which started
from a low level in the middle of 2009 should continue and
accelerate in 2010 and 2011. On the product side, the new
BlueEFFICIENCY models should provide some impetus. In
addition, we intend to significantly increase our unit sales in
China on the basis of local production.
Daimler Buses assumes that it will maintain its worldwide
leading position for buses above 8 tons with innovative and high-
quality products. The growth we expect in unit sales is likely
to be driven in 2010 primarily by markets in Latin America and
in 2011 additionally by Europe and Mexico.
The Daimler Financial Services division anticipates stable
development of its worldwide contract volume in the automotive
business in 2010. We continue to offer dealerships and customers
a comprehensive range of financial services and thus support
sales of the Group’s vehicles. We intend to continually expand our
insurance business. In terms of dealer and customer satisfaction,
our goal is to be number one in the world rankings.
On the basis of our assumptions concerning the development
of automotive markets and the divisions’ planning, we expect
the Daimler Group’s unit sales to increase in 2010 followed by
further significant growth in 2011.
Revenue and earnings
Following the significant drop in earnings in 2009, we assume that
Daimler’s revenue will rise again in 2010, but will still be signif-
icantly lower than in 2008. This growth will probably be driven
by all the automotive divisions. We anticipate further revenue
growth in 2011, provided that the anticipated market revival con-
tinues.
The earnings situation of the Daimler Group and its divisions in
2010 will continue to be impacted by ongoing weak demand in
major markets compared with 2007 and 2008. In 2009, however,
we already implemented cost-reducing actions yielding total
savings of €5.3 billion, allowing us to achieve positive earnings
also under difficult market conditions. The success of these
actions was already apparent in the second half of 2009 and will
also have positive effects in 2010. In addition, we have intensi-
fied the efficiency-enhancing programs running in all divisions
and
have supplemented some of them with structural compo-
nents. At the same time, we are increasing our advance expendi-
ture to safeguard our future: We are effectively pushing forward
with our research and development work within the framework of
the initiative “The Road to Emission-free mobility” and we are
not making any cutbacks in this respect. We will further improve
the environmentally friendliness and fuel efficiency of our vehi-
cles with the application of new technologies, while attracting and
retaining customers with our typical product features of safety,
comfort and above all fascination. We are developing new produc-
tion facilities and distribution structures, particularly in the
BRIC countries, thus creating the right conditions to profit from
the growth of these markets.