Mercedes 2012 Annual Report Download - page 80

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3 | Management Report | Business and General Conditions
business units and functions by means of interdepartmental
initiatives, thus better utilizing the potential of our global posi-
tioning. The sustained earnings improvement targeted with
Daimler Trucks #1 is €1.6 billion, which we intend to realize by
the end of 2014.
Mercedes-Benz Vans will support the planned worldwide
growth with new products and new technologies. There will be
an important contribution in this respect from the new Citan
city van, with which the Mercedes-Benz brand will penetrate
the small-van segment. In the United States, we intend to con-
tinue our growth with the Sprinter, which we sell there under
both the Mercedes-Benz and the Freightliner brands.
The Daimler Buses division is strengthening its competitive
position with new products and economical engines. The new
Setra ComfortClass 500 coach sets new standards for econ-
omy, quality and comfort, with the added attraction of a unique
safety concept. In addition, Daimler Buses is working to secure
its long-term profitability, through the reorganization of its Euro-
pean sales structure for example.
Daimler Financial Services is also focused on growth - and in
different ways: The division will continue increasing its busi-
ness volumes along with the model and market offensives for
cars and commercial vehicles. At the same time, it will further
expand its product offering in the field of vehicle insurance, as
well as with mobility services.
Growing in new markets. Growth in global automotive
demand will mainly take place in the markets outside Europe,
North America and Japan in the coming years. Although we
continue to strengthen our position in those traditional markets,
we also aim to expand in other regions, especially in Brazil,
Russia, India and China, the so-called BRIC countries. In order
to achieve Mercedes-Benz Cars’ sales targets, we are intensi-
fying our activities above all in China. That is where versions of
the new compact-car series will be produced in the future and
a new engine plant for four-cylinder engines will be opened in
2013. At the same time, we are expanding our sales network
in China and reorganizing the distribution system. With medium
and heavy trucks, we are focusing on the cooperation with
our partner Foton in China. Mercedes-Benz Vans produces
the Vito, Viano and Sprinter models for the Chinese market
in cooperation with Fujian Benz Automotive Corporation. In
Brazil, Daimler Trucks is optimizing its production capacities
and further extending its strong market position with new truck
models. In Russia, the biggest European truck market, we
are continuing our expansion in cooperation with our partner
Kamaz. Mercedes-Benz Vans’ Sprinter will be produced in Russia
under a license agreement with truck manufacturer GAZ as of
the year 2013. In India, Daimler Trucks has started production
of the first trucks under the new BharatBenz brand. By the year
2014, BharatBenz will have launched a total of 17 truck models
in weight classes above 6 metric tons. This will allow Daimler
to satisfy the rising demand for robust and reliable trucks. Daimler
Buses is active in India with our partner Sutlej in the field
of coaches. Daimler Financial Services has established a new
company in Malaysia. In 2012, we were the first automobile
manufacturer to offer leasing on a large scale for cars and
commercial vehicles in China; we established an additional
company for this purpose. We are also expanding our market
position in other new growth markets in addition to the BRIC
countries.
Leading with green technologies. As a pioneer of automotive
engineering, our goal is to make the future of mobility safe and
sustainable. Varying mobility requirements call for different
drive solutions. Our portfolio of solutions ranges from the opti-
mization of internal-combustion engines to hybrid drive and
locally emission-free driving. Already in the year 2012, we were
able to reduce the CO2 emissions of newly registered vehicles
from Mercedes-Benz Cars in the European Union to an average
of 140 grams per kilometer. By the year 2016, we aim to
reduce the CO2 emissions of our new car fleet in the European
Union to an average of 125 g/km. Worldwide, we are the
first automobile manufacturer to use lithium-ion batteries in
a series-produced car with hybrid drive. With nine different
models, we have the biggest product portfolio of electric vehicles
– from light motorcycles to cars, light trucks, vans and buses.
Our fuel-cell vehicles have already clocked up more than
9 million kilometers in customer use – this depth of experience
with fuel cells is unique in the automotive industry. The Actros
is the most economical truck in its market segment and Daimler
leads the world with hybrid-drive trucks.
Pioneering with the development of new mobility concepts
and services. More than half of the world’s population already
lives in cities, and this proportion is rising. Digital technologies
are changing our products, our brand and corporate communi-
cation, and our working life. In parallel, customers are increas-
ingly demanding individual, needs-oriented and convenient
mobility solutions. This is creating new business potential for
Daimler, which we intend to effectively utilize with new and
innovative products and services. For some groups of custom-
ers, who for various reasons do not own a car themselves,
the flexible use of a vehicle is important nonetheless. We are
reacting to this by offering mobility solutions for private, busi-
ness and public applications such as car2go, CharterWay, Bus
Rapid Transit (BRT) and the “moovel” mobility platform. We will
significantly expand the car2go business in the coming years.
By the end of 2012, approximately 270,000 customers had
registered in 18 cities of Europe and North America. With the
“moovel” integrated mobility platform, we offer customers
the possibility to optimally combine various private and public
mobility services, with combined billing via a pay system
planned for the future. We have already gone live with moovel”
in Stuttgart and Berlin. In order to further expand our range of
mobility services, we are entering into strategic partnerships
with various mobility service providers, which we will succes-
sively integrate into our mobility platform.
In the area of innovative services, we offer the new sale&care
product for the smart fortwo electric drive and create service
brands such as “TruckWorks” for commercial vehicles as well
as “My Service” and “mbrace2” for cars. Furthermore, we offer
communication systems such as COMAND Online, making cars
into mobile communication centers. Within the framework of
“Digital Life,” we combine the areas of working life, corporate and
brand communication, customer and product with new busi-
ness opportunities. In this way, we are working on automotive
concepts to shape the future of mobility while promoting
growth in all segments, markets and businesses.