Daimler Previews Automobile 2.0 Era

During the Annual General Meeting, German carmaker Daimler managed to draw the line and add the numbers for the year 2009 and, at the same time, tried to preview what it calls the "Automobile 2.0" era. The conclusion of the meeting is that Daimler, although affected by the crisis, continued to try and improve its offer in light of the reshaped automotive industry.

With a 20 percent fall in revenue to €78.9 billion in 2009 and a net loss of €2.6 billion, the 2.0 era starts bad for Daimler's shareholders, who will not receive a dividend for 2009.

“We would have decided differently had we not been firmly convinced that our course of action was necessary. It is also in the long-term interest of our shareholders, because it raises the dividend payment potential from our retained income in the years to come,” Dieter Zetsche, Daimler member of the board said in a release.

Still, the outlook for 2010 is somewhat optimistic. The German carmaker plans to grow at around double the rate of the global passenger car market for the year, despite the fact that predictions show the unit sales and revenue will be under the 2008 levels.

For achieving this goal, Daimler plans to optimize the existing internal combustion engine and also add more hybrids, electric vehicles and fuel cell vehicles to the range. By 2012, Daimler plans to reduce the CO2 emissions of its new-car fleet in the European Union to under 140 g/km.

The recently announced alliance with Renault-Nissan will also help achieve the sales target goal. As you already now, the three carmakers will build a shared platform for the Twingo and the smart and exchange engines.

“We are sharpening our brand profiles, spearheading technological transformation, growing in key markets, satisfying changed customer requirements and boosting our efficiency,” Zetsche added.