Daimler Annual Report 2011 - Alle jaarverslagen

4 | The Divisions | Daimler Trucks
A major event of 2011 for Daimler Trucks was the market launch of the new Actros.
Strong performance by Trucks NAFTA. Trucks NAFTA is
the leading manufacturer of Class 6-8 trucks in North America.
Our Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses brands
offer highly innovative, high-performance heavy-duty vehicles
for special and long-distance haulage applications, mediumduty
trucks primarily for local distribution, and vocational trucks
for construction sites and municipal use.
In the year 2011, Trucks NAFTA sold 118,800 vehicles worldwide,
a strong increase of 50% on the prior-year number.
In the NAFTA region, we benefited from the continued high
demand for trucks, which was mainly buoyed by the need to
replace older vehicles. Our outstanding product range enabled
us once again to consolidate our leading position in the
segment for Class 6-8 trucks and to attain a market share of
31.9% (2010: 31.6%). Demand for our products is also very
healthy on other continents. This was demonstrated for example
with the launch of the Coronado in Australia and New Zealand.
The first orders were already placed during the truck’s presentation
in Melbourne and Christchurch. Another area in which
we are playing a pioneering role is environmental protection:
A total of 3,800 natural gas vehicles clearly demonstrate that
our customers accept our alternative drive technologies. In fact,
Trucks NAFTA is North America’s leading manufacturer of
commercial vehicles running on natural gas. The Western Star
4700 and a Freightliner SD model were unveiled at the 40th
Mid-America Trucking Show (MATS) in Louisville, the biggest
truck show in the United States. These two new trucks ex -
pand the model range in the vocational segment.
New Detroit brand. With immediate effect, the new Detroit
brand will bring together all the components of the truck powertrain.
Above all, this includes the ultramodern diesel engines
of the types DD13, DD15 and DD16; the name is derived from
the well-known Detroit Diesel brand. By taking this step, we
are optimizing our range of customized, coordinated powertrain
components. These products will not only be used in
Trucks NAFTA vehicles, they will also be purchased by other
commercial vehicle producers for use in their own vehicles.
Trucks Asia expands its international market presence.
With its Canter, Fighter and Super Great truck models, the
Fuso brand has gained a reputation around the world as
a quality-focused truck manufacturer whose products range
from light-duty models to heavy-duty vehicles. Fuso is also
Daimler Trucks’ Center of Excellence for light-duty trucks and
cutting-edge hybrid technology. Against this backdrop, Fuso
presented a concept vehicle of a heavy-duty hybrid truck at the
Tokyo Motor Show in November. Initial tests of this vehicle,
the Super Great HEV, have demonstrated that it has a much
better fuel efficiency than conventional diesel-powered trucks.
The natural disaster in Japan initially caused production to be
suspended at Fuso’s plants. However, thanks to efficiencyboosting
measures, it was possible for the company to return
to high levels of production in June, despite supply bottlenecks
and a difficult market environment. Continuing reconstruction
efforts in Japan have brought an increased need for transportation
services in their wake, and thus also a greater demand
for commercial vehicles. Production disruptions caused by
procurement difficulties with our suppliers were closely examined
by teams of experts at Fuso, who also actively helped
to solve the related problems. As a result of this approach, Fuso
managed to sell 147,700 vehicles in 2011, which was
actually 5% more than in the prior year. The Japanese market
accounted for 27,000 of these unit sales, representing an
increase of 9%. And thanks to the great customer response to
the Fuso Canter, we were able to significantly increase our
share of Japan’s light-duty truck segment to 23.5%. Unit sales
developed very favorably also in Indonesia (+11%) and Taiwan
(+42%). We are the undisputed leaders in both of these truck
markets, where we enjoy market shares of 48.7% and 55.8%
respectively. In Eastern Europe, sales rose by 28%. As far as
our cooperation activities are concerned, we reached another
milestone in Russia, where 2,000 vehicles were sold in 2011
(2010: 800). Trucks Asia’s unit sales rose significantly also in
the NAFTA region, increasing by a strong 16% to 3,500 vehicles.
In another important development, we launched medium-duty
Fuso trucks in South Africa in early October.
Trucks Asia plans to address the challenges of the years ahead
with its “Fuso 2015” program for the future, which has five
strategic goals: leader in green innovation, number 1 for customer
satisfaction in Japan, profitable global player, efficiency
leader, and employer number 1 in its industry and its markets.
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