Daimler Trucks increased its worldwide deliveries in the first eleven months of 2017 by 12 percent. It thus reached a year on year to 422,500 units. That happened despite the continuation of disparate market conditions. Until the end of November, more trucks reached customers than in the whole of last year. In full-year 2016, the Daimler truck division sold approximately 415,100 vehicles of the Mercedes-Benz. The FUSO, Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses and BharatBenz brands worldwide account for the figures.
On the basis of initial December data, Daimler Trucks assumes that it will end the full year with unit sales in the magnitude of 465,000 vehicles (2016: 415,100). The final sales figures will be available at Daimler’s annual press conference on February 1, 2018.
“For full-year 2017, we at Daimler Trucks anticipate unit sales in the magnitude of 465,000 trucks. These are significantly more than in the previous year. And significantly more than we expected at the beginning of the year. This is only possible with leading products and an excellent international team. Especially with an ongoing situation of weak tailwinds from our markets. I thank all our employees for their outstanding efforts,” stated Martin Daum, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Trucks & Buses.
“In everything that we do, our focus is on our customers. In order to offer them the best products and solutions, we work continuously on innovations. We used the year 2017 to work hard on efficient, electric, automated and connected trucks. We will be sustainably successful in 2018 – the year of the IAA Commercial Vehicles show – and beyond.”
Significant growth in unit sales thanks to growth in North America for Daimler Trucks
The significant growth in unit sales that Daimler Trucks achieved based on the positive sales development in the NAFTA region. That was especially in the second half of the year. Daimler Trucks increased its sales in the first eleven months of the year by 12 percent. With a market share of 39.2 percent in weight classes 6 to 8 (2016: 40.0 percent), Daimler Trucks continued its undisputed market leadership for medium- and heavy-duty trucks in North America by a clear margin.
A key reason for the truck division’s success in the North American market is the new Freightliner Cascadia. The new Cascadia has been rolling off the assembly line since early 2017. It features an integrated Detroit powertrain and sets standards in terms of fuel efficiency, safety and connectivity. Daimler Trucks recorded a significantly higher number of orders received in the NAFTA region than in the prior-year period.
Increases also in Europe and Latin America – growth in Brazil again
Daimler Trucks increased its sales also in the EU30 region (European Union, Switzerland and Norway). It was an increase by three percent to 73,600 units in the months of January through November (2016: 71,100). Mercedes-Benz maintained its market leadership in the segment of medium- and heavy-duty trucks with 21.0 percent (2016: 20.7 percent). Mercedes-Benz is the best-selling brand also in Germany. There it holds a market share of 36.6 percent (2016: 37.2 percent) and deliveries of 28,000 vehicles (2016: 27,600).
Since March 2017, Mercedes-Benz trucks feature the new Truck Data Center. This standardized connectivity module is fitted across the Daimler Trucks brands. It shows up in the Mercedes-Benz Actros, Arocs, Antos and Atego as well as in the new Freightliner Cascadia and the new FUSO SuperGreat. The Truck Data Center forms the basis for existing connectivity solutions from Daimler Trucks. However, it also allows new digital services such as the Mercedes-Benz Uptime service product. This intelligent linking up of trucks, Mercedes-Benz Service and customers can reduce off-road times.
Daimler Trucks grows in Russia
Due to the improved investment climate and thanks to optimized dealership structures, Daimler Trucks was able to more than triple its deliveries in Russia to 7,800 vehicles (2016: 2,200; +254 percent). In Turkey, Daimler’s truck division achieved sales growth after the weak development in the previous year. It delivered 9,500 vehicles, which is 20 percent more than in the prior-year period (2016: 7,900). The Daimler company in Turkey had its 50th anniversary in the summer of 2017. Daimler has produced buses since 1967 and trucks since 1986 in Turkey.
In Latin America, sales of 27,300 vehicles by Daimler Trucks in the first eleven months of the year were nine percent higher than in the prior-year period (2016: 25,100). There was a strong contribution from the positive sales development in Argentina, where 5,200 trucks were delivered to customers (2016: 3,500; +47 percent). In the region’s main market, Brazil, Daimler Trucks increased its unit sales by eight percent to 12,200 vehicles (2016: 11,200).
With a market share of 28.3 percent in the first eleven months, Daimler Trucks once again achieved a top position in this important truck market (2016: 29.3 percent). In the next five years, Daimler will invest approximately 600 million euros in Brazil. The investition will steer towards the modernization of its range of trucks, in digital services and in the two local production plants. This means that Mercedes-Benz Trucks is ideally positioned for the upturn of customer demand expected for the Brazilian market in the medium term.
Significant increase in unit sales in growth region Asia
Unit sales in Asia increased by a significant 18 percent to 132,400 trucks (2016: 112,600).
In Japan, sales of 40,700 units in the first eleven months were just under the prior-year level (2016: 42,000). And market share was 19.3 percent (2016: 20.3 percent). The new SuperGreat heavy-duty truck demonstrates FUSO’s goal of further consolidating its position in the Japanese market and sets standards for efficiency, safety and connectivity. Like the latest heavy-duty trucks from Mercedes-Benz and Freightliner, the new FUSO flagship makes use of components from the global platform strategy; in addition to a standardized electric/electronic architecture including the Truck Data Center, it also features a shared powertrain.
In Indonesia, Daimler Trucks profited from the growth dynamism of the overall local truck market. Sales of 37,600 units in the first eleven months were significantly higher than the prior-year number of 24,400 trucks sold (+54 percent). At the local production plant in Wanaherang, a Mercedes-Benz truck drove off the assembly line for the first time in 2017. This vehicle now supplements the market-specific range of locally produced FUSO models as a heavy-duty truck with the three-pointed star, and is used primarily on construction sites. With the FUSO brand, Daimler Trucks has had a very strong positon in this southeast Asian country for more than 40 years.
What is happening in the Middle East?
Although the overall market in India was smaller than in 2016 – as a result of regulatory and tax changes especially in the first half of the year – Daimler Trucks significantly increased its unit sales in the fifth year since the launch of the BharatBenz brand. From January through November, 15,200 vehicles were delivered (2016: 12,100; +26 percent). Market share increased by 2.3 percentage points to 9.0 percent. The plant in Chennai produces BharatBenz trucks not only for the local market, but also for export, meanwhile to more than 40 markets in Asia, Africa and Latin America. In the Middle East, deliveries grew significantly by 31 percent to 21,000 vehicles (2016: 16,000).
In China, the world’s biggest vehicle market, Daimler holds a 50-percent interest in the joint venture Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co. Ltd. (BFDA), the producer of medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks under the Auman brand. Along with the significant market recovery in China, sales of 104,600 Auman trucks were significantly higher. Unit sales by the joint venture are not included in the consolidated sales of Daimler Trucks.
