Mercedes 2013 Annual Report Download - page 155

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D | The Divisions | Daimler Trucks
With the launch of the Freightliner Cascadia Evolution, we were able to significantly expand our market share in Class 6-8 in the NAFTA region.
With a slightly contracting market, our unit sales in the NAFTA
region remained stable at 135,200 trucks (2012: 135,000).
We increased our market share of Class 8 trucks to 36.0% (2012:
32.9%). At 38.2%, market share for the entire Class 6-8 segment
was also substantially higher than in 2012 (34.0%). As a result,
we once again significantly extended our market lead. Although
production of the new Freightliner Cascadia Evolution did not
begin until March 2013, sales of more than 14,000 units of the
model contributed substantially to the division’s sales success.
The good sales development speaks for Daimler Trucks’ advanced
vehicle technology. Thanks to the new Detroit DD15 engine,
the proven Daimler BLUETEC exhaust treatment technology
and aerodynamic improvements, customers benefit from
improved fuel efficiency of up to 7% compared with the first
generation of the Cascadia, which was already EPA 2010-
compliant. The Detroit brand supplies engines, axles and trans-
missions. Daimler Trucks is the only truck manufacturer
in the NAFTA region to offer a fully integrated powertrain from
a single source. Customers thus benefit from optimally coor-
dinated drive system components. The Detroit powertrain com-
ponents are offered in the division’s entire North American
product family – from Freightliner and Western Star trucks to
Thomas Built Buses. Daimler Trucks is a pioneer of resource
conservation with its products also in the United States. At the
beginning of 2012, Daimler Trucks’ entire North American
vehicle lineup was already certified according to the Greenhouse
Gas 2014 Standard (GHG14), which takes effect in 2014. The
certification covers the long-haul, medium-duty, construction
and municipal trucks of the Freightliner and Western Star brands.
In Asia, Daimler Trucks benefits from its global spread through
the subsidiaries Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation
(MFTBC), based in Kawasaki, Japan, and Daimler India Commer-
cial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV), whose headquarters are in
Chennai, India. In Chennai, where Daimler Trucks started pro-
ducing BharatBenz brand trucks in summer 2012, the plant
has also been manufacturing FUSO brand vehicles for selected
export markets since the second quarter of 2013. Daimler
Trucks is securing its leading role in new growth markets through
the implementation of the new “Asia Business Model,” an
initiative of the “Daimler Trucks #1” program which generates
synergies between MFTBC and DICV along the entire value
chain, and by expanding the model range to exploit additional
sales opportunities in Asia and Africa. Our performance
in the sales markets differed widely throughout Asia last year.
In Japan, we sold 38,300 vehicles, increasing our unit sales
by 10%. Demand for trucks there was boosted by the govern-
ment’s economic stimulus program. Our market share in
the overall segment of 20.2% stayed at the prior-year level;
it increased slightly in the light-duty segment, from 21.8%
to 22.3%. In India, demand for trucks was much lower than in
the previous year due to the weak economic development.
Nonetheless, the successful launch of our BharatBenz vehicles
enabled us to claim fourth place in the medium- and heavy-
duty truck segment. In total, Daimler Trucks sold 6,500 vehicles
in India (2012: 1,300). The first industry honors for the entire
BharatBenz product range, including the coveted national award
“Apollo CV of the Year 2013,” underscore the brand’s suc-
cessful launch in India. Competition is very tough in other Asian
markets, where some truck manufacturers are granting
substantial discounts in order to position their products more
favorably in the market. We sold 64,700 trucks in Indonesia
and took a 46.9% share of the country’s total truck market
(2012: 68,500 and 43.7%). Demand for trucks declined signi-
ficantly in Taiwan, where we sold 5,700 units and attained
market share of 41.7% (2012: 12,300 and 55.2%).