Daimler hopes to end 2014 with 500,000 truck sales

Daimler Trucks will nearly sell 500,000 trucks in 2014 worldwide despite difficult market conditions, Daimler succeeded in increasing deliveries to 445,300 units in the first eleven months of 2014, an increase by three percent over the same period last year.

Based on first December figures Daimler Trucks assumes to finish 2014 with nearly 500,000 units sold. Final worldwide sales figures will be published on February 5, 2015. In 2013, Daimler Trucks sold about 484,200 vehicles of the Mercedes-Benz, FUSO, Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses and BharatBenz brands.

In December, 2014 Daimler India Commercial Vehicle (DICV) had reason to celebrate an important production milestone: The 20,000th locally produced truck of the BharatBenz and FUSO brands rolled off the assembly line in Chennai, India.

In India, five more models of the BharatBenz brand were launched over the course of the year. Sales in the first eleven months climbed by 61 percent to 9,700 (previous year: 6,000) units.

Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses said "Our intense efforts in all regions are paying dividends. Despite many economic challenges in some key markets, we can look back on 12 successful months. With almost 500,000 trucks sold we are already coming very close to our target envisaged for 2015,”

The year 2014 was dominated by developments that varied widely by regions for commercial vehicles. Weak economic prospects but also political uncertainties put a strain on the market development in Latin America. In Europe, sales were impacted by the lack of dynamic economic development in addition to the introduction of the new Euro VI emissions standards and the difficult political situation in Eastern Europe. The situation is very different in North America and Japan where Daimler benefited from the strong overall local business environment for commercial vehicles.

The growth of Daimler Trucks in 2014 was driven in particular by the positive development of sales in the NAFTA region and in Japan.

In the NAFTA region, Daimler Trucks was again by far the market leader in the weight classes 6-8 with a market share of 37.3 percent (previous year: 38.8 percent). Sales in the first eleven months climbed to a record 147,200 vehicles (previous year: 124,000 vehicles). This corresponds to an increase by 19 percent over the same period last year.

Sales in Asia developed positively overall in the past year. In Japan, sales in the first eleven months increased by 16 percent to 39,900 units (previous year: 34,400 units). In the total Japanese market, Daimler Trucks was thus able to defend its position with the FUSO brand and reached a market share of 20.3 (previous year: 20.2) percent.

In Indonesia, sales dropped to 51,400 (previous year: 57,400) units due to the strong downturn in the market compared with the same period last year. Nevertheless, Daimler Trucks increased its market share to 47.2 (previous year: 46.7) percent. In the course of the product initiative, FUSO launched the new FI and FJ model series manufactured in India in Indonesia.

Mercedes-Benz succeeded in slightly increasing its market share to 24.6 (previous year: 24.2) percent in a difficult market environment in Western Europe. Sales in the first eleven months cumulated to 50,500 units, thus remaining below the previous year's level (previous year: 56,800 vehicles).

In Germany, sales likewise decreased to 25,500 (previous year: 28,200) units as the result of the market climate. With a market share of 40.0 (previous year: 40.4) percent the company retained its leading position in the domestic market.

In Turkey, sales climbed to an eleven-month record level of 18,900 (previous year: 17,100) units. The market share slightly dropped to 48.9 (previous year: 49,7) percent. The local Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant in Aksaray was able to celebrate a special anniversary a few weeks ago: the 200,000th Mercedes-Benz truck made in Turkey rolled of its assembly lines.

In Latin America, sales dropped considerably due to a lack of dynamic economic development. The key market Brazil was rather strongly impacted: sales in Brazil decreased to 31,300 (previous year: 37,300) units. Nonetheless, Daimler Trucks succeeded in significantly expanding its market share to 26.0 (previous year: 24.4) percent in this difficult market environment. To remain competitive in this market of strategic importance and be able to react flexibly to changes in the market, Daimler Trucks will invest well over 500 million euros in the production facilities, products and locations around Sugarloaf Mountain through 2018.

In China, Daimler Trucks is well on its way to sell roughly as many trucks of the Auman brand as in 2013 (previous year: 103,000) in a slightly declining total market. The first eleven months of this year saw sales of 89,800 Auman trucks (previous year: 94,000).

The highlight of 2014 at Daimler Trucks was the Mercedes-Benz Future Truck 2025. Presented at the 65th International Motor Show for Commercial Vehicles in Hanover in September, the Future Truck 2025 protects resources, reduces all types of emissions, guarantees maximum traffic safety and increases connectivity in road traffic with help of technology found in the aviation industry. Radar sensors and camera technology make it possible for the Future Truck 2025 to drive autonomously independent from other vehicles or control centers. Mercedes-Benz combines this technology within the highly intelligent "Highway Pilot" system.