Mercedes 2006 Annual Report Download - page 53

– Leading Brands: We want to position our brands clearly and
attractively. With our broad brand portfolio we appeal to specific
groups of customers all over the world. Consistent brand
management forms the basis for this appeal. One example is the
brand initiative started by the Mercedes Car Group in 2006:
The profile of the Mercedes-Benz brand is to be further developed
and sharpened under the brand pledge of “Appreciation”,
with greater focus placed on traditional values (see page 84).
We regularly review the positioning of our brands with the
use of various parameters. Value retention is an important
indicator for the image of a brand, for example.
–Innovation & Technology Leadership: We want to stand out
from the competition through innovation and technology
leadership. We therefore concentrate on innovations that offer
our customers genuine added value in everyday use. We aim
to lead the way with important, customer-relevant technologies.
Pioneering innovations demonstrate our outstanding position
on the issue of safety and drive-system technologies: some
examples are the preventive occupant protection system
PRE-SAFE®, the night-view assistant, the assistance system
“Active Brake Assist” and our ESP®as used in the Sprinter
van series. With its BLUETEC technology, Mercedes-Benz is
paving the way for a new generation of powerful and clean
high-tech diesel engines. With the Mitsubishi Fuso Canter Eco
Hybrid, we offer our customers the world’s cleanest vehicle
in the light-truck segment. By transferring such innovations to
other brands at the Group, we create advantages for our entire
product range in global competition. Innovation & Technology
Leadership is evaluated by the success factors drive-system
technology, safety, reliability and customer satisfaction. The
parameters measured include the results of crash tests or
fuel-consumption figures, for example.
–Global Presence & Network: We want to expand our global
presence and utilize its potential. As a result of rising unit sales
and our worldwide network of production plants and research
and development facilities, we aim to strengthen our market
presence and maintain a competitive cost situation over the
long term. Especially with our commercial-vehicle business,
we are already globally active along the entire value chain.
Another important step in China has contributed to the expansion
of our activities in Asia: In the middle of September 2006,
DaimlerChrysler and Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Com-
pany opened a joint production plant in Beijing. This highly
modern plant, in which vehicles from Mercedes-Benz, Chrysler
and Mitsubishi will be assembled, will strengthen our presence
in the Chinese car market and in the entire economic area of
Northeast Asia. Key steps have also been taken to push for-
ward with the planned expansion of the commercial-vehicle and
financial-services businesses in Asia.
–Operational Excellence: We want to do the right thing – and
to do it the right way! Our goal is to develop, produce and sell
excellent products using processes with above-average efficiency.
For this purpose, we create clear structures and lean processes.
We utilize the possibilities of standardization and modularization
– in all areas of the company and of the value chain. For this
purpose, efficiency-improving programs are being implemented
in all divisions and along the entire value chain: the new
management model for all administrative departments at the
Group, the CORE program at the Mercedes Car Group, the
“Recovery and Transformation Plan” at the Chrysler Group pre-
sented in February 2007, the efficiency programs within the
framework of the Truck Group’s Global Excellence initiative, the
Creating-the-Next (CTX) program at the Vans unit, BusPlus or
for example Roadmap Europe at Financial Services. The Daimler-
Chrysler ScoreCard is also used in this context to monitor
progress for the entire Group.
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