Prepared for a rapidly changing market
Daimler Trucks enjoyed a successful 2014 and is ready for the challenges of 2015
DESPITE difficult market conditions, Daimler Trucks succeeded in increasing output to almost 500,000 units worldwide across its Mercedes, Fuso, Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses and BharatBenz brands in 2014, an increase of 3% over the same period last year.
“Our intense efforts in all regions are paying dividends,” said Wolfgang Bernhard, a member of the board of management of Daimler AG responsible for Daimler Trucks and Buses. “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 close to our target envisaged for 2015.”
For commercial vehicles, 2014 was characterised by developments that varied from one region to the next. Weak economic prospects and political uncertainties put a strain on the market in Latin America. In Europe, sales were affected by the slower economy, the difficult political situation in Eastern Europe and the introduction of the new Euro 6 emissions standard.
The situation was different in North America and Japan — in these markets Daimler benefited from the strong overall local business environment for commercial vehicles.
“We scored points with our strong products. With a strong sales team and vehicles perfectly tailored to the particular customer needs, we managed to increase our market positions in many key regions,” said Bernhard.
About the prospects for this year, he said: “With our global presence, our technological leadership and our intelligent platform strategy we are well prepared to react swiftly and appropriately to unpredictability in the economic environment.
“That is why we at Daimler Trucks will continue to work steadily on further expanding our position as the world's leading truck manufacturer in 2015.”