Mercedes 2015 Annual Report Download - page 61

68 A | TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS | OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY
In order to achieve Mercedes-Benz Cars’ sales targets, we
are intensifying our local activities, particularly in China but
also in Brazil and India. We manufacture the GLK SUV in China,
and in late 2015 we began building its successor, the GLC,
there as well. We also produce the long-wheelbase version of
the E-Class, long and short versions of the C-Class and, since
mid-2015, the GLA compact SUV in China. Beginning in mid-2016,
the previous long-wheelbase version of the E-Class will be
replaced with a successor model. We opened a new production
plant for four-cylinder engines in China in late 2013, and this
facility has been gradually expanded since then. As of year-end
2015, we and our partner BAIC had invested a total of €4 billion
in the expansion of local car and engine production in China.
In the electric-vehicle segment, we joined forces with the Chinese
battery and vehicle manufacturer BYD to develop a battery-
electric automobile. This electric vehicle was launched in China
in 2014 under the DENZA brand name. We are continuing our
internationalization strategy for the research and development
unit with the expansion of the R&D center in Beijing. Our dealer-
ship network in China is now just as extensive as the networks
of our main competitors.
We have further expanded assembly capacity in India to include
the compact CLA-Class, which means that seven of the
nine volume models available in India are now assembled
locally in Pune.
We will begin producing the C-Class and the GLA for the local
market in Brazil in 2016. In Mexico, Daimler and the Renault-
Nissan alliance have laid the foundation stone for a shared
production plant in Aguascalientes. The first Mercedes-Benz
vehicles should drive off the production lines there in 2018.
Our goal for Daimler Trucks is to safeguard the division’s strong
position in Europe and North and South America, and to
achieve significant growth in particular in the Asian markets
with Daimler Trucks Asia. Daimler Trucks Asia consists of
the two regional companies Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus
Corporation (MFTBC) and Daimler India Commercial Vehicles
(DICV), which has been operating in India for several years.
The consolidation of these two companies under a joint manage-
ment system enables us to more effectively exploit market
potential in the region and also generate synergies. At DICV
in India, we build trucks of the BharatBenz brand as well
as FUSO trucks for export to external markets. The FUSO trucks
built in India are mainly aimed at price-sensitive markets
in Asia and Africa.
Our activities in the field of medium-duty and heavy-duty
trucks in China focus on cooperation with our partner Foton,
with which we produce Auman-brand trucks in our joint
venture Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co. Ltd. (BFDA).
In order to fully utilize growth opportunities in the markets
of the future in Africa, Asia and Latin America, we are position-
ing ourselves even closer to the pulse of the market in these
regions with our new regional centers. They will concentrate
on sales and aftersales for commercial vehicles of the Daimler
brands. Following the opening of the first of six worldwide
regional centers in Dubai in October last year, more regional
centers will follow in the first quarter of 2016.
Mercedes-Benz Vans intends to strengthen its good market
position in Western Europe with tailored and technologically
leading products. For this purpose, the division is systematically
further developing its proven models Sprinter, Vito and Citan,
with which it primarily addresses commercial customers. The
focus is on the product features that are especially important
to customers: economy and safety. With the very successful
V-Class multipurpose vehicle, the Marco Polo models and the
Vito Tourer, Mercedes-Benz Vans is addressing additional
target groups. New markets are to be developed with these
models also in regional terms.
Daimler Buses will focus over the next few years on achieving
further growth and continual efficiency gains. Additional business
volume will be generated through increased sales of highly
attractive buses and bus chassis, as well as by a larger number
of more extensive services for buses. Our new Mercedes-Benz
Citaro NGT model is an urban regular-service bus powered by a
highly efficient natural-gas engine.
Daimler Financial Services remains on course for growth.
Approximately half of all newly delivered passenger cars from
the Daimler Group worldwide are already financed or leased
by Daimler Financial Services. The division currently finances
3.7 million cars and commercial vehicles worldwide, and
plans to increase this figure in the future. At the same time, the
division will expand its product range in the areas of financing,
leasing, insurance and mobility services. The company is also
focusing on the expanded use of digital sales channels and
more extensive networking with the vehicle divisions. Daimler
Financial Services currently enjoys an excellent reputation
as an attractive employer, which serves as further motivation
for the company to maintain its employees’ high level of
satisfaction and remain very appealing to external job appli-
cants in the future.
Growing on a global scale
Growth in global demand for automobiles will take place mainly
in Asia in the coming years. Although growth rates in China
will be more moderate in the next few years, we expect China
to permanently become the world’s largest automobile
market over the next ten years. For Daimler, growing further
on a global scale means improving our strong position in
passenger car and commercial vehicle markets in Europe,
North America and Japan, while also fully exploiting growth
potential in Asia and various emerging markets.