Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 167

174 C | THE DIVISIONS | DAIMLER BUSES
Earnings slightly above prior-year level
Daimler Buses sold 28,100 buses and bus chassis worldwide in
2015 (2014: 33,200). This significant decrease in unit sales
was largely due to the ongoing poor economic situation in Brazil.
Nevertheless, the division was able to maintain its clear lead-
ing position in its core markets for buses with a gross vehicle
weight of over 8 metric tons.

C.07 Business with complete
buses in Western Europe developed favorably during the year
under review, with sales increasing from the prior-year level. At
€4.1 billion, revenue was slightly lower than in 2014 (€4.2 billion).
Success with sales of complete buses and a favorable product
mix in Western Europe more than offset the lower unit sales in
Latin America, resulting in a slight increase in EBIT to €214 million
(2014: €197 million).
Varied business development in core regions
In Western Europe, the Daimler Buses brands Mercedes-Benz
and Setra offer not only a complete range of city buses,
intercity buses and coaches, but also bus chassis. Thanks to
an improvement in our complete bus business, sales in the
region increased by 3% to 7,800 units. As a result, Daimler Buses
maintained its leading position in Western Europe with a mar-
ket share of 30.9% (2014: 34.4%), although this share was lower
than the record figure achieved in 2014. Strong demand for
our Mercedes-Benz and Setra buses – particularly in the coach
segment – had a positive effect on our sales in Germany,
where the coach segment also benefited from the continued
expansion of long-distance bus services. However, the de-
crease in demand for city buses compared with the extraordi-
narily high level of demand in the prior year led to a decrease
in bus sales in Germany to 2,800 units (2014: 2,900). Sales in
Turkey rose by 32% to 1,000 units; this positive development
was mainly due to a substantial increase in coach sales in the
country.
Daimler Buses
As the leading bus manufacturer in its core markets of Western Europe and Latin America, Daimler
Buses focuses on supplying innovative and environmentally responsible products that meet its
customers’ business requirements. During the year under review, we enhanced our wide-ranging
product portfolio. Business development in 2015 was once again negatively affected by the difficult
economic situation in Latin America, which led to a decrease in unit sales and revenue. Nevertheless,
we were able to increase our earnings slightly compared with the previous year.
C.07
Daimler Buses
2015 2014 15/14
€ amounts in millions % change
EBIT 214 197 +9
Revenue 4,113 4,218 -2
Return on sales (in %) 5.2 4.7 .
Investment in property, plant
and equipment
104
105 -1
Research and
development expenditure
thereof capitalized
184
13
182
11
+1
+18
Production 29,092 31,485 -8
Unit sales 28,081 33,162 -15
Employees (December 31) 18,147 17,473 +4
C.08
Unit sales by Daimler Buses
2015 2014 15/14
% change
Total 28,081 33,162 -15
Western Europe 7,757 7,557 +3
thereof Germany 2,787 2,865 -3
Mexico 3,964 3,633 +9
Latin America (excluding Mexico) 11,909 17,614 -32
Asia 1,030 1,117 -8
Other markets 3,421 3,241 +6