Mercedes 2012 Annual Report Download - page 144

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Our holdings make further progress. Our cooperation with
the Chinese truck manufacturer Foton gives Daimler Trucks
access to China’s attractive volume segment. After the Chinese
Ministry of Commerce had given Daimler and Foton the final
approval for a joint venture in the fall of 2011, the partnership’s
operational phase began in Beijing in 2012. Since July, the
joint venture company Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co.,
Ltd. (BFDA) has been manufacturing all of the Auman brand’s
trucks. In addition to completing a second Auman truck pro-
duction plant, the joint venture will also set up a manufacturing
facility for engines in the future. Daimler will contribute its
technological expertise, especially in the areas of diesel engines
and exhaust gas systems.
Through a partnership between Fuso and Nissan, Daimler
Trucks is also continuing to expand its product range in Japan.
An agreement signed in November regulates the mutual
supply of light trucks. As a result, Fuso will add the Fuso
Canter Guts to its vehicle lineup in 2013.
In Russia, Daimler Trucks is benefiting from its modular system
as it cooperates with its partner Kamaz. Beginning in 2013,
Mercedes-Benz Axor cabs will be installed in Kamaz’s new gener-
ation of trucks on the basis of a licensing agreement. Since
November 2012, we have also been supplying diesel and natural
gas engines as well as axles to Kamaz as part of a supply
agreement. In this way, Daimler Trucks is expanding the partner-
ship, which also encompasses two local joint ventures estab-
lished to produce and sell Mercedes-Benz and Fuso trucks in
Russia.
Product offensive proceeding as planned. Besides introduc-
ing the new BharatBenz brand, Daimler Trucks also presented
numerous new products last year.
The Mercedes-Benz Antos for example is the first vehicle
class designed specifically for use in heavy-duty distribution
transportation. The Antos is being rolled out with a wide
range of EURO VI diesel engines. Featuring three displacements
and outputs ranging from 175 kW to 375 kW, these engines
allow customers to select the right powertrain for their needs.
In all of the versions, power is transmitted by the fully auto-
mated PowerShift 3 transmission. As a result, even trucks and
semitrailer tractors that are only occasionally fully loaded
have a good operating performance. Specific models are also
offered for special applications. For the first time ever, all of
the assistance systems used in the Actros long-haulage truck
are now also available for distribution transportation.
In May 2012, Daimler Trucks presented the new Freightliner
Cascadia Evolution, which becomes available in the US market
in 2013. The new truck consumes up to 7% less fuel than
the current EPA10 Cascadia model. These fuel savings were
demonstrated during a 2,400-mile test drive and have also
been confirmed by an independent institute. The large savings
were made possible by equipping the truck with the new
Detroit DD15 engine and implementing aerodynamic measures.
Developments in the NAFTA region were very promising at
the beginning of 2012. At the end of the first half of the year,
demand for Class 6 to 8 trucks was approximately 30% higher
than it had been at the same time in 2011. The relatively high
average age of the vehicles in this region continues to generate
demand for substantial numbers of replacement trucks.
However, increasing numbers of truck customers postponed
their purchases in the second half of the year due to the
deteriorating economic outlook. As a result, demand stagnated
compared with 2011. Despite these developments, sales of
135,000 vehicles in the NAFTA region represent a substantial
increase of 18%. With a market share of 34.0% (2011: 31.9%)
for the Class 6 to 8 segment and 32.9% (2011: 30.9%) for heavy-
duty trucks, we have further strengthened our leading position
in this key market. We significantly boosted sales not only
in our main market, the United States, where sales of 113,800
vehicles surpassed the prior-year figure by 17%, but also in
Mexico, where sales rose by 28%. Daimler Trucks is the only
manufacturer in the NAFTA region which has engines, axles
and transmissions completely from its own production (from the
component brand Detroit) and can thus offer its customers
optimally tailored products.
At 163,700 units, Daimler Trucks sold many more vehicles
in Asia this year than in 2011 (134,900). Our vehicle sales
were up by 30% in Japan, where demand remained strong this
year as a result of the extensive reconstruction work that
was necessary following the natural disaster in March 2011.
Our Fuso vehicles gained market share especially in the
attractive heavy-duty truck segment (+2.4 percentage points).
Despite intensified competition, we greatly increased our
truck sales in Indonesia once again, selling a total of 68,500
units there. Although our market share declined slightly in
Indonesia, we continue to be the undisputed leader in the over-
all truck segment with a market share of 43.7% (2011: 48.7%).
One of the high points of 2012 was the start of the production
and sales of BharatBenz brand vehicles in India. We put a new
production plant into operation in India last April after a record
set-up time of only about 24 months. 85% of the parts and
components for BharatBenz trucks are manufactured in India.
In addition to truck assembly and powertrain production, the
facility encompasses an R&D center and a test track. The plant
in Chennai has been producing heavy-duty trucks of the new
Daimler Trucks brand BharatBenz since the summer of 2012;
sales of the vehicles commenced in September. Since early
October, the company has also been producing and selling
medium-duty trucks. Although not much time had elapsed since
sales commenced, we had already sold 1,100 medium and
heavy-duty vehicles by the end of the year.
Our premium brand, Mercedes-Benz, is already very successful
in the Chinese truck market. Last year, we increased our sales
in China above all in the country’s construction vehicle segment.
Those vehicles were manufactured at the truck plant in Wörth
and adapted for their specific applications. We also sell Fuso
models in China. During the year under review, Daimler Trucks
sold a total of 6,900 vehicles in China under its various brands,
thus increasing its sales volume there by 6%, although the
overall market contracted significantly.