Daimler has just made another important step for its truck market evolution plan by signing an agreement with Kamaz, reportedly Russia's largest truck manufacturer. Under the terms of the contract, Daimler will pay about 250 million dollars for a 10 percent stake of the total share capital, with payment due to be made until December 31. “Another one-time payment of up to 50 million USD will be due in 2012 subject to successful business performance of
Kamaz,” Daimler explained in a statement released to the press.
The 10 percent stake will guarantee Daimler a seat in the Board of Directors, plus the the “status of the exclusive strategic partner.” But behind all these fancy terms and phrases, the partnership allows
Daimler's truck subsidiary to step into the Russian market by using Kamaz's domestic resources, such as production facilities, sales structures and “a good retail network”.
“I’m very happy about the conclusion of the holding agreement with Kamaz, especially in view of the difficult economic environment we currently face,” says Andreas Renschler, member of the Daimler Board of Management responsible for Daimler Trucks. “It has allowed us to take the first step toward creating a hopefully wider-ranging partnership in which the two companies can share their development, production, and sales expertise.”
Daimler Trucks delivered approximately 1,300 units in Russia in 2007 and, although the economic crisis smashes sales all around the world, the German manufacturer aims to increase sales using the newly-signed agreement. According to figures provided by Daimler, Russia is one of the largest truck markets in the world, with total sales going as much as 154,000 units in 2007. Kamaz is the number one truck producer in Russia, with approximately 53,000 trucks sold last year.
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