Mercedes saw truck sales rise 44 per cent to 94,800 units in the third quarter, according to Daimler Trucks.
By the end of September 2010, total sales at Daimler Trucks were up by 34 per cent to 249,000 units, compared to the total sales of 185,600 units in the same period of last year.
And the company expects the global truck markets to see further recovery by the end of the year. It forecasts market growth of five per cent in Europe, ten to 15 per cent in the NAFTA region, 50 per cent in Brazil, and between 20 and 30 per cent in Japan.
Andreas Renschler, head of the Daimler Trucks division, told analysts and investors: “The forecasts indicate that the worldwide markets for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks will grow by eight per cent to 2.6 million units in the period between 2010 and 2013. At Daimler Trucks it looks like we will succeed in boosting sales by more than 40 per cent to over 500,000 units during the same period. Given this outlook, a return on sales of eight per cent is within reach for Daimler Trucks across the entire business cycle.”
He pointed out that the economy was rebounding, and with it the demand for commercial vehicles.
“It’s true that this is market-specific and is happening at different speeds from market to market, but the indications overall are positive worldwide. However, the crisis isn’t entirely behind us yet. I expect that it will be 2013 before we return to the level of demand we experienced in the triad markets in 2007 or 2008.”
The group has put in place an Operational Excellence initiative focusing on the systematic optimisation of all processes, in particular the cost basis.
Daimler Trucks North America and Fuso in Japan are implementing realignment programmes that will lead to baseline savings of around 720 million euros ($900 million) at DTNA and about 760 million euros (1 billion yen) at Fuso, beginning in 2011.
