Daimler
Daum Reaches the Pinnacle
I'm writing this issue of the newsletter in absentia, so to speak, as it will be published while I'm away from computers and unable to stay in touch. To be more precise, I'm a week early in posting this so forgive me if giant events occur between now and the 22nd and they're not covered here. Then again, this report isn't intended as a news vehicle.
Daum replaces Bernhard as Daimler Trucks chief
STUTTGART, GERMANY - Martin Daum will lead Daimler Trucks and Daimler buses as a member of the board of management effective March 1, the company has announced. The appointment is for five years. Daum has been president and Chief Executive Officer of Daimler Trucks North America since 2009, overseeing Freightliner, Western Star, Thomas Built Buses, Freightliner Custom Chassis, and Detroit Diesel. Prior to that he was a member of the management team at Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Europe, and vice president - production for Mercedes-Benz Trucks, as well as being responsible for the world's biggest truck plant in Worth.
Daimler HQ recognized for green design
PORTLAND, OR - Daimler Trucks North America's (DTNA) new environmentally friendly corporate headquarters in Portland, Oregon, has earned the company LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Daimler truck and bus chief resigns
STUTTGART, GERMANY -- Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard is stepping down as the head of Daimler Trucks and Buses a year before his contract expired, citing personal reasons. Chief executive Dr. Dieter Zetsche will head the business unit until a successor is appointed. "We regret this resolution, but we have a number of outstanding managers to succeed. We thank Wolfgang Bernhard for his committed work and respect his personal decision," stated Manfred Bischoff, chairman of the supervisory board.
Mexico a “land of opportunity”, says Daimler’s Kurschner
PUERTO VALLARTA, MX - In a year when dealers in Canada and the U.S. face a dramatic downturn in truck sales, Mexico is a world apart. As of November the market for Class 4-8 vehicles was up 18.5%, and Daimler Trucks North America accounted for 36% of it -- up 7.8% over last year. But Stefan Kurschner, president and Chief Executive Officer of Daimler Vehiculos Comerciales Mexico, says there's room for more.
Daimler CEO talks growing share, struggling market
LAS VEGAS, NV - It's a tough market for truck sales these days, but Daimler Trucks North America president and Chief Executive Officer Martin Daum still sees a "light at the end of the tunnel" - and is setting firm goals for the year to come. Where Canadian Class 8 sales were up 6% in 2014 and 3% in 2015, they are down 24% this year. Daum expects 360,000 Class 6-8 trucks to be sold in the NAFTA region this year, down dramatically from 424,000 units last year, and even the 384,000 in 2014.
European truck makers fined billions for price fixing
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM -- The European Union is fining five truck makers nearly 3 billion euros (Cdn $4.3 billion) for acting as a cartel to fix prices of medium and heavy-duty trucks and time the introduction of technologies to comply with emissions rules. It's the highest fines ever imposed by the EU for a single cartel - twice the previous highest amount, imposed in 2012, according to Margrethe Vestager, the European Union's competition commissioner, in a statement. MAN (now owned by Volkswagen), Daimler, DAF (owned by Paccar), Iveco and Volvo/Renault -- which together account for around nine out of every 10 medium and heavy trucks sold in Europe -- had been working together for 14 years, from 1997 until the European Commission's investigation in 2011 put a stop to it.
