German truck maker Daimler registered record growth in 2015 despite a challenging market environment with a operating margin of 7.3 per cent and a sale of 500,000 trucks.
 
Daimler Trucks saw its ebit (earnings before interest and tax) from ongoing business grow by 32 per cent to €2.7 billion ($3.01 billion) over the previous year's figure of €2.1 billion ($2.34 billion).

The operating margin improved to 7.3 per cent, while the sales rose to 502,478 units compared to the previous year's 495,668 units, thereby exceeding the mark of half a million trucks that had been a target for a long time, stated the truck manufacturer.

Thus, Daimler Trucks has managed to increase sales by around four per cent between 2013 and 2015 – while the global market excluding China has actually contracted by around four percent over the same period.

Some of the key markets developed far worse than expected in 2015: in Indonesia, demand plummeted by 32 per cent compared to the previous year, and in Brazil the drop was even higher, at 49 per cent, said a top official.

"Despite a challenging market environment, 2015 was one of the best years in the history of Daimler Trucks. We owe this to our outstanding products and services, strong sales performance and continuous efficiency measures," said Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, a member of the board of management of Daimler AG with responsibility for Daimler Trucks & Buses.

"Our team will continue to follow exactly the same course in 2016 – and that will ensure our success this year as well," stated Dr Bernhard at a press conference.

Daimler Trucks, he said, wants to maintain the high level of sales and ebit from ongoing business achieved last year.

"This is an ambitious target, as the market environment is still a difficult one - probably even more difficult than in 2015. We expect demand for medium and heavy-duty trucks in the relevant markets overall to decline slightly, he added.

"In this challenging environment, we are looking to stabilise our business at a high level by further strengthening our leading position and expanding our market shares," said Dr Bernhard. "With our focus firmly placed on consolidating our technological leadership, our global market presence and our intelligent platforms, we are very confident to achieve this goal – for we have the right strategy and our strategy is bearing fruit," he added.

The world's most successful truck manufacturer provided impressive proof of its technological leadership in autonomous driving in 2015.

In May it held the world premiere of the Freightliner Inspiration Truck, the world’s first self-driving truck approved for road use in the US state of Nevada.

Next, in October came the debut of the first self-driving production truck, the Mercedes-Benz Actros with Highway Pilot, on the A8 motorway near Stuttgart in Germany.  

"Connecting trucks to the cloud opens up new opportunities for all involved in truck transport: manufacturers, customers, financial partners, repair and maintenance facilities as well as authorities. With real-time data, connected trucks will improve the performance of entire transportation logistics networks," remarked Dr. Bernhard.
 
Thanks to services such as FleetBoard and Detroit Connect, Daimler Trucks already holds a leading position in truck connectivity. This year, Daimler Trucks will strengthen and build on that position with new products and services, he noted.

"120 years ago, we invented the truck – and we will remain pioneers in our industry in the future. Connecting our products to the Internet of Things is critical to that end. With Fleetboard and Detroit Connect we’re already the market leader in intelligent truck telematics today," said the top official.

"We intend to build on this position. We expect to take the same leadership role in connectivity as we have taken in autonomous driving," he added.

According to him, Daimler Trucks is systematically expanding its global market presence.

"The latest example are six new regional centres reinforcing sales and service close to customers in emerging markets with promising growth potential in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East," stated Dr Bernhard.

Daimler Trucks announced the six new centres a year ago, and three of them have already entered operation in the meantime, he added.

The Regional Centre for Commercial Vehicles in Dubai is responsible for sales and after-sales in 19 markets in North Africa and the Middle East since October 2015. -TradeArabia News Service