Daimler Trucks to Achieve Target

One by one, the divisions of German group Daimler are posting their financial estimates for the year and, by the looks of it, most are on track of achieving their targets. The latest division to announce this is Daimler Trucks, who now says it can and probably will achieve the return on sales of eight percent.

The truck maker, the largest in the world, is experiencing a good growth coming from the commercial vehicle sector, which last year dropped to nearly half of its usual size because of the economic crisis.

This year, the manufacturer's sales recorded an increase of 34 percent to 249,000 units (by the end of September), compared to the total sales of 185,600 units in the same period of last year. The outlook for 2010 is positive, with Daimler Trucks aiming at a market growth of five percent in Europe, ten to 15 percent in the NAFTA region, 50 percent in Brazil, and between 20 and 30 percent in Japan.

“The forecasts indicate that the worldwide markets for medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks will grow by eight percent to 2.6 million units in the period between 2010 and 2013,” said Andreas Renschler, Daimler member of the board.

“At Daimler Trucks it looks like we will succeed in boosting sales by more than 40 percent to over 500,000 units during the same period. Given this outlook, a return on sales of eight percent is within reach for Daimler Trucks across the entire business cycle.”

For future growth, the truck maker will be focusing on three initiatives, each with its own specific purpose: Management of Market Cycles (orient Daimler Trucks with the cyclical nature of business in the sector), Operational Excellence (systematic optimization of all processes) and penetration of existing and prospective markets.