Mercedes 2010 Annual Report Download - page 133

The Divisions | Daimler Trucks | 129
The Fuso Canter is Daimler Trucks’ best-selling vehicle the world
over and since February 2010, its standard diesel variant has
complied with the Enhanced Environmentally Friendly Vehicle
Standard. The Fuso Canter Eco Hybrid is number one in terms
of fuel efficiency among trucks up to five tons gross vehicle weight
in Japan. Altogether, more than 1,000 units have been sold world-
wide to date. The vehicle is also now available outside Japan in
Australia, Ireland, and Hong Kong. The world premiere of the
Fuso Canter E-CELL concept truck also met with a very positive
response. This model’s battery-electric drive system performs
so well that a combustion engine is unnecessary. Fuso continued
to move ahead consistently with its product offensive in the year
under review with the introduction of its new Super Great long-
haulage truck on the Japanese market in the spring of 2010.
Shaping Future Transportation. Our new products and technol-
ogies offer evidence of the success of the CleanDrive, SafeDrive,
and ValueDrive programs from our Shaping Future Transportation
initiative, which was launched in 2007. CleanDrive stands for
environmentally friendly and economical commercial vehicles
built by Daimler for all different types of applications. Within
the framework of SafeDrive, we are pursuing the vision of accident-
free driving and continually developing new safety technologies.
We constantly focus also on customer utility, because operating
and maintenance costs account for approximately 90% of the
total cost of ownership (TCO) of a commercial vehicle. This is
where the various customized services from Daimler Trucks
come into play such as Charterway and the FleetBoard telemat-
ics services, all of which are consolidated into the “ValueDrive”
program.
For ten years, Daimler FleetBoard has been developing and mar-
keting telematics solutions to boost the profitability of commer-
cial vehicle fleets. Key benefits here include average fuel savings
of seven percent within the first three months after the system
is introduced, training programs for new customers, significant
savings on maintenance and repair work for longtime customers,
optimal order management thanks to the FleetBoard transport
management system, close to real-time transmission of vehicle
locations and routes using satellite images and FleetBoard Map-
ping, and a time management system that enables operators
to better monitor drivers’ working and resting times and thus opti-
mize order management.
Outstanding global position with the Global Excellence Pro-
gram. The penetration and extensive management of new mar-
kets and growth sectors – another pillar of the Global Excellence
strategy – was successfully continued during the year under
review. In Russia, our joint ventures Fuso Kamaz Trucks Russia
and Mercedes-Benz Trucks Vostok manufactured the first Fuso
and Mercedes-Benz trucks to be produced in the country and
launched the vehicles on the domestic market. At the end of 2010,
we also signed a memorandum of understanding with Kamaz
relating to cooperation on the production of axles in Russia. In
addition, Kamaz is currently introducing the Truck Operating
System (TOS) that Daimler Trucks uses around the world. This
system forms the basis for the Operational Excellence initiative,
which is part of the Global Excellence strategy. The initiative con-
centrates on the rigorous reduction of material expenses and
fixed costs, as well as the optimization and standardization of
global processes and the increased flexibility of production
plants. In India, we consolidated all the country’s truck sales
activities at Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) in Chen-
nai. DICV is thus also responsible for sales and marketing of
Mercedes-Benz trucks in India. We also put our proving grounds
into operation in the spring of 2010. In China, we received
approval from the Chinese National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC) as the first major step toward establishing
a 50:50 joint venture with the Chinese truck manufacturer Foton
Motor, with whom we signed a joint venture agreement.
In December, we signed an agreement covering the delivery of
Mercedes-Benz truck components to Finnish truck manufacturer
Oy Sisu Auto Ab. With this contract, Mercedes-Benz is opening
up a new area of business and generating additional sales poten-
tial for vehicle components. The contract involves the delivery
of Mercedes-Benz Actros cabs, engines, and transmissions for
200 to 400 vehicles each year. Heavy-duty Polar Truck models
will be assembled by Sisu and sold in Finland under the Sisu brand
name. Plans call for the first trucks to be delivered to customers
in March 2011.
Trucks Asia – the new Super Great long-haulage truck and the new Canter delivery truck form the core of the Fuso product offensive.