Mercedes cars and Daimler trucks to split in December

In June Daimler AG announced it would start a new Daimler Truck AG entity in a move to split its global Mercedes-Benz passenger car business from its commercial wing.

The intention is to rename Daimler AG to Mercedes-Benz in February 2022 to accelerate the passenger division into a zero-emissions and software-driven future, while the truck division becomes a new and solely independent entity, with plans to list on the stock market trading under the Daimler Truck banner on December 10.

The local Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern Africa (DTBSA) subsidiary has announced the separation of the SA entities from December 1. DTBSA will officially transition into a completely independent and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG. 

Daimler Truck is a global commercial vehicle giant manufacturing a wide range of light, medium and heavy trucks as well as city, intercity and touring coaches for global markets.

It has merged with other brands such Freightliner Trucks; Western Star, the long-haul heavy truck specialists; and US-based Thomas Built Buses, which manufactures light- to medium-duty buses and is best known for its of the iconic US yellow school buses.

Adding to its portfolio are long-running relationships with German brand Setra which provides most of Europe with intercity, long-distance and premium coaches; FUSO, the Japanese brand that builds trucks and buses for the Asia, Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America markets; and BharatBenz, based in Chennai, India to build medium- and heavy-duty buses in that region.

The SA subsidiary transition saw a R1bn investment to ensure continuity in operations, resources and infrastructure for the DTBSA business.

DTBSA will in time move out of the existing head office it shares with Daimler Benz SA into its own headquarters and it will comprise of the sales and marketing, customer service and parts, retail, manufacturing plant and value-added services which include a TruckStore, FleetBoard, Mercedes-Benz Uptime, Service24h, TruckParts and FUSO Value Parts.

Local production continues at the East London plant integrated with Mercedes-Benz passenger and FUSO brands.

Introduction of new truck models and also readying for an electric future is an essential part of the separation. Local market testing of the FUSO e-Canter, an all-electric truck for inner city deliveries continues.

Michael Dietz, the German CEO DTBSA since 2020, says ongoing engagements with the SA commercial vehicle industry reveals SA fleet owners are ready to embrace electric power with its marketed savings in operational overheads.

“This is indeed a huge turning point for us as DTBSA and a huge investment for the SA market. The new setup promotes the necessary focus into our core business, creates favourable conditions for us to be more competitive and accelerates the development of key technologies for us to continue to provide cutting-edge products and services to fulfil the special needs of our customers," concluded Dietz.