Mercedes 2009 Annual Report Download - page 129

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At 12%, the decrease was less pronounced in Brazil, where sales
were especially buoyed by tax breaks and government support
with the provision of favorable financing packages. Our market
share in the heavy-duty truck segment remained nearly unchanged
from the prior year at 27.0%.
Due to declining demand for transport services and therefore also
for commercial vehicles, like the entire commercial vehicle sector,
Trucks Europe/Latin America was faced with the challenge of ad-
justing production capacities to substantially lower sales volumes.
In Germany, the division was able to respond quickly to the drop
in orders received by taking numerous flexibility-enhancing mea-
sures such as working time accounts and the employment of tem-
porary personnel. The Brazilian commercial vehicle market recov-
ered somewhat in the second half of the year. This development
benefited Mercedes-Benz do Brasil and its plant in São Bernardo
do Campo, which hired more than 1,200 new employees for its
truck and bus production.
Despite the difficult economic situation, Mercedes-Benz Trucks
will continue to invest in its products and plants. Our long-term
competitiveness will be secured by investing in the successor
generations of the current product range as well as in the devel-
opment of green technologies such as diesel-hybrid in the Atego
BlueTec Hybrid. Mercedes-Benz is demonstrating its commitment
to Germany as a production location by building a new stamping
facility in Gaggenau. And in October, Mercedes-Benz opened one
of Europe’s most up-to-date commercial vehicle centers in Berlin.
This center provides the full range of sales and services for vans,
trucks and special vehicles, while also offering customized ser-
vices under the new “TruckWorks” brand label.
Renewed decrease in unit sales in the NAFTA region. Trucks
NAFTA is the leading truck producer in North America. Our Freight-
liner brand supplies heavy-duty trucks for long-distance haulage
and medium-duty trucks mainly for local deliveries. Western Star
is positioned as a premium manufacturer covering the segment
of heavy-duty trucks for both long-distance haulage and construc-
tion applications. In addition, Trucks NAFTA produces and dis-
tributes school buses of the Thomas Built Buses brand.
Trucks NAFTA sold 63,600 vehicles in 2009 (2008: 104,300). Due
to the difficult economic environment, sales in the United States
decreased substantially for the third year in a row. Mexico suffered
a particularly sharp decline in unit sales, due to the financial and
economic crisis and advance purchases ahead of the introduction
of the EPA 04 emission limits in August 2008. However, our mar-
ket share in the NAFTA region remained at the prior-year level. We
defended our market leadership in the Class 8 truck segment
with a share of 30.9% and we stabilized our market share in the
medium-duty truck segment at 20.4% (2008: 20.7%).
In February 2009, Daimler Trucks North America opened a new
truck manufacturing plant in Mexico. It did so despite the con-
tinued weakness of demand in the NAFTA region in order to
strengthen its competitive position on the continent over the long
term. The plant in Saltillo can produce up to 30,000 Freightliner
Cascadia heavy-duty trucks annually for sale in the United States,
Canada, and Mexico. The new production site was planned in
line with the requirements of the division’s Truck Operating System,
and sets global standards for production efficiency and product
quality.
Divisions |Daimler Trucks |125
Economical awareness and economy writ large: the new Freightliner Coronado with BLUETEC technology.