Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 63

70 A | TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS | OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY
We have also achieved fuel savings of as much as 8% with our
new Euro VI bus models. Use of the second-generation OM471
heavy-duty engine in the new Mercedes-Benz Travego has
led to a further reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions
of approximately 4%. Daimler Buses is also focusing more
on alternative drive systems. The Mercedes-Benz Citaro NGT is
a new urban regular-service bus equipped with a natural-gas
engine. The model stands out through its low-noise operation
and lower CO2 emissions, both of which are very important
considerations in congested cities. The CO2/km emissions of
the Citaro NGT are between 15% and 20% lower than those
of the predecessor model. Daimler Buses also plans to launch
the Citaro E-CELL with a battery-electric drive and a new
model with fuel cells in the segment for locally emission-free
vehicles before the end of the decade.
We continue to safeguard our leading position with regard
to safety and assistance systems in all our automotive divisions.
In parallel, we are developing autonomous driving to series
maturity for cars and commercial vehicles. E pages 6 ff
We will also further strengthen our position as a pioneer in
the development of active and passive safety systems for cars
and commercial vehicles. Our goal here is to offer the highest
degree of safety in all our model series. The E-Class, which will
become available in the spring of 2016, marks a major step
forward on the path to autonomous and connected driving. The
new Intelligent Drive next Level system enables the vehicle
to follow traffic ahead in its lane at speeds of up to 210 km/h.
At speeds up to 130 km/h, the system can intervene even
without clearly visible lane markings and thus ease the burden
on drivers, especially in congested and slow-moving traffic.
Active Brake Assist can detect traffic approaching from the side
at an intersection, as well as traffic jams and pedestrians in
danger zones in front of the car. The system can warn drivers
of an impending collision and automatically initiate an emer-
gency braking maneuver if necessary. The S 500 INTELLIGENT
DRIVE research car and the Future Truck 2025 are both mile-
stones on the road to fully autonomous driving, which we want
to make a reality in a series-production car by the end of this
decade. In September 2015, we became the first automaker
to receive official permission to test autonomously driving
vehicles on public roads in California in the United States.
In May 2015, Daimler Trucks received the world’s first permit
for an autonomously driving truck on public roads for the
Freightliner Inspiration Truck in the US state of Nevada. And
since October 2015, the first autonomously driving series-
produced truck, a Mercedes-Benz Actros with Highway Pilot,
has been undergoing road tests in Germany. Autonomous
driving offers many advantages in particular for transporting
goods by road. It increases safety, as well as efficiency
as a result of optimal gear shifting, braking and accelerating.
We are underscoring our leading position in the field of safety
also with new assistance systems and with the further devel-
opment of the emergency-braking and lane-keeping assistants.
And in the near future, we will launch the turning assistant on
the market. It can recognize pedestrians, cyclists and stationary
obstacles, thus preventing accidents in urban traffic and
saving lives.
Moving ahead with digitization
Digitization is changing the way we do things in a major way.
It is altering our products and services, our communication with
customers and the manner in which we create value at
Daimler. Digitization is also paving the way for new mobility
concepts. In order to remain on top as this transformation
proceeds, we are moving ahead with digitization at all levels and
along the entire value chain, while continuing to focus on
our customers. Our activities involve enhancing the connectivity
of our products, developing customer-focused digital services
and increasing digital communication with customers – starting
with the initial contact and extending through the entire
relationship. This approach offers our customers many benefits.
For example, connecting sales and production processes
enables us to respond to customer preferences more quickly,
individually and flexibly. We are also using digitization to
make our internal processes more efficient and to improve
their quality, while eliminating the need for our employees
to perform certain types of heavy physical labor.
We continue to roll out connected vehicles at Mercedes-Benz
Cars. Mercedes me connect is now available in nearly all
model series and customers can access their vehicle online
at any time and from any location. Mercedes me is our digital
platform that brings together mobility, financing and other
services (connect, assist, move and finance), and also provides
information and news about the Mercedes-Benz brand
(inspire). E page 18
We are extending our range of digital services also at Daimler
Trucks. Connectivity will be a crucial factor for success in
the logistics sector in the future. Our goal is to be the leading
commercial vehicle manufacturer in terms of connectivity
so that our products become part of an overall logistics system.
We are further expanding our Detroit Connect telematics
services in North America in cooperation with our strategic
partner Zonar Systems. We are further developing FleetBoard
in Europe, South Africa and Brazil, where the system is
now included in half of all our new trucks. The Mercedes-Benz
Vans and Daimler Buses divisions are also developing
integrated transport solutions and improving their fleet
management systems.
Digital technologies also offer us the opportunity to develop
new and innovative mobility concepts for private, business and
public transport applications. Examples here include car2go,
CharterWay, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) and the “moovel” mobility
platform. car2go, which is our biggest business for private
mobility services and is managed by Daimler Financial Services,
is being further expanded around the world and linked with
the moovel range of services. By the end of 2015, car2go was
established at 31 locations in Europe and North America
and had well over a million customers. car2go is also one of the
biggest car-sharing companies for electric vehicles, with
all-electric fleets at four locations. moovel offers our customers
the opportunity to optimally combine various private and public
mobility services and book them through a payment system.