Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 37

Mercedes-Benz Cars played a large part. With sales of more than two million
vehicles, we set our fifth consecutive record for unit sales. This means that
we were once again the world’s strongest-growing premium brand. For the first
time, China was the most important market for Mercedes-Benz. Our multitude
of models is the key to this success. The main drivers of the sales growth were
the C-Class, our SUVs and the compact cars. In addition, we achieved our
profitability target of a ten-percent return on sales in 2015.
Daimler Trucks reached a major milestone in 2015 with sales of more than
500,000 vehicles. In regional terms, the development of the truck business
was very varied. The decrease in unit sales in the weak Latin American market
was offset by an exceptionally strong performance in North America.
We underscored our role as the leading truck manufacturer with milestones
in the field of autonomous driving. In Nevada, we received the very first
road approval for a truck driving autonomously. We also tested the first
autonomous series-production truck on a German autobahn.
At Mercedes-Benz Vans, the Sprinter in particular gave us reason to celebrate.
The bestseller not only had its twentieth anniversary in 2015, it also set a
new sales record. Another highlight was the market launch of the Vito in North
and South America. In total, we increased our unit sales of all van models
by nine percent last year.
Daimler Buses performed well in a difficult market environment, although
we did not quite match the unit sales of the previous year. In the future,
we intend to profit from the growth potential of the Indian market, and we have
already charted the course: After a construction period of just two years,
series production started in fall last year at our new bus plant in Chennai.
42 CHAIRMAN’S LETTER