Updates - Daimler CV Sub Brands

[hannaz]

This thread is meant for the latest updates and news related with the all the sub-brands of Daimler Commercial Vehicles around the globe. Here I post the first news from China.


Daimler’s Joint Venture Product Auman EST chosen “Chinese Truck of the Year 2017”

• Auman EST wins the first “Chinese Truck of the Year” award
• New model from Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (BFDA) extends portfolio of locally manufactured trucks for China
• Award further proves the successful implementation of Daimler Trucks’ global market presence and the consistent orientation on regional customer and market requirements

Stuttgart / Guangzhou, China – On the eve of the 3rd Guangzhou International Commercial Vehicle Exhibition on November 17, the Auman EST won the trophy at the first “Chinese Truck of the Year” competition. The Auman EST is the latest heavy-duty truck model from Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (BFDA), which extends the portfolio of locally manufactured trucks. Hereby, Daimler Trucks once again strengthens its global market presence while consistently focusing on regional customer and market requirements.

“We are proud that the ‘Chinese Truck of the Year’ jury has recognized our efforts with this honor. The Auman EST embodies Daimler Trucks’ advanced technologies and our strong commitment to providing trucks adapted to the specific requirements of Chinese customers,” says Zhou Liang, President and CEO of BFDA. “This award highlights the success of our German-Sino cooperation between Daimler and Foton,” he adds.

The Auman EST is a product of Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (BFDA), a 50:50 joint venture between Daimler AG and Chinese manufacturer Foton Motor. Its target group is logistics customers looking for long-distance logistics solutions with on-time delivery, high efficiency and added value. The truck is equipped with intelligent drive features and adheres to high quality standards. It accumulated over 10 million km test mileage over four years, including R&D and testing in Europe.

The “Chinese Truck of the Year” jury is formed of professionals from the commercial vehicle media, customer representatives, and members of the “International Truck of the Year” jury, which is renowned in the commercial vehicle industry. According to the jury’s rules, the evaluation criteria cover the fields of innovation, efficiency, emissions, safety, drivability, and comfort.

About Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. (BFDA)

Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd. is a 50:50 joint venture between Daimler AG and Chinese manufacturer Foton Motor, founded in 2012. BFDA is an important pillar for the global product and production strategy of Daimler Trucks.

Daimler

 

[Wolfgang]

Setra Show 2016 with 2000 visitors

• Guests from more than ten European countries in Neu-Ulm
• Numerous expert discussions around the current product range
• Visitors delighted by test drives and ABA 3 demonstrations

Stuttgart/Neu-Ulm. In mid-November, Setra once again put the spotlight on the vehicles of the IAA Commercial Vehicles from the current product range. On 12 and 13 November, some 2000 guests from more than ten European countries accepted the invitation to this year's Setra Show. Alongside a presentation of the latest trade fair exhibits, there was a series of activities and demonstrations around the Customer Centre in Neu-Ulm. The focus of the two-day in-house show was on the three-axle S 418 LE business from the Setra MultiClass, an S 516 MD and an S 515 HD from the ComfortClass as well as an S 517 HDH and an S 431 DT double-decker bus from the TopClass.

While the guests indoors were engaged in numerous in-depth expert discussions with the sales staff and general distributors, outside in front of the Customer Centre Setra buses from all three product segments were available for test drives.

State-of-the-art safety systems and historic buses

How does a contemporary Setra bus respond in a hazardous situation? This was experienced by the visitors in impressive live demonstrations of the Active Brake Assist 3 (ABA 3) driver assistance system, which automatically initiates emergency braking, also in the case of stationary obstacles. Setra buses not only have the latest safety systems on board, but they are also extremely efficient on the road. This is exemplified by Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC). On demonstration drives, bus operators were able to inform themselves in detail about this system, the world's first cruise control for touring coaches with integrated intervention in the transmission.

The Setra Show provided an opportunity to take a look at trendsetting developments as well as at the glorious past of the self-supporting buses. A regular shuttle service brought the interested public to the nearby "Kässbohrer Hall", where a host of restored vehicles of all model series was on display. The organisers also offered tours of the plant as well as a visit to the outdoor site of the used-bus brand BusStore. This year once again saw presentations covering current trends and offerings, which were given by employees from service brand Omniplus as well as the Mercedes-Benz Bank. Guests were able to inform themselves about the new Telediagnosis service of the Fleetboard system, which optimises the 24h Service while shortening downtimes. In the event of a breakdown, the vehicle can be located and error codes sent to the nearest service centre at the press of a button.

Traditional product show in an attractive setting

Ulrich Bastert, Head of Marketing, Sales and Customer Services at Daimler Buses, also availed himself of the opportunity to conduct numerous discussions with customers from across Europe in a pleasant atmosphere: "We're happy to see the openness of the Setra brand being so positively accepted by so many customers. Alongside the IAA, the Setra Show is traditionally held every two years and provides an ideal platform for presenting our diverse product range in an attractive setting."

 

[Wolfgang]

Mercedes-AMG meets Freightliner.

 

[hannaz]

New BS6 (Euro 6) range of Bharat-Benz trucks & buses launched in India.

 

[Wolfgang]

Western Star teases new vocational truck

The result of a six-year development project, the new work vehicle is designed to be 'the most upfit-friendly' Western Star ever.

Coming off the best year in Western Star history, the truck manufacturer will roll out “the best vocational truck in the industry” this summer, promises David Carson, senior vice president, vocational sales and marketing, Daimler Trucks North America.

Western Star provided a “sneak peek” of its newest truck in the vocational truck product portfolio during a recent Facebook live event. In the broadcast, Carson reached as if to remove the cover from the vehicle before admitting he had “teased” the audience for the time being.

He emphasized the new Western Star is not a “repurposed” highway truck, but a dedicated vocational vehicle built with the global resources of Daimler in collaboration with vocational customers, dealers, and truck equipment manufacturers (TEMs).

“What you see is the result of a project we started over six years ago—six years solely focused on building the best vocational truck in the industry—a project that will deliver a truck built from the ground up as a true vocational truck,” Carson said. “This will be the safest, most advanced, most tested, and most upfit-friendly Western Star ever built, period.”

The new Western Star truck, which will be fully unveiled in summer 2020, is part of parent company DTNA’s recently announced segment strategy to deepen its focus on segment-specific needs. The structure is designed to strengthen DTNA’s customer- and application-focused commitment to vocational customers. The new truck is billed as a prime example, leveraging the global design and engineering resources of Daimler for the most proven truck in Western Star history.

In 2019, Western Star introduced an enhanced version of its best-selling truck model, the 4700, which includes updates such as a refreshed interior, more powertrain options, additional TEM-friendly features, and new active safety features.

Western Star, founded in 1967, recently built its 200,000th truck and its newest truck the company will continue Western Star’s emphasis on productivity, driver comfort and safety while retaining the distinctive styling of a Western Star truck, Carson added.

Source: FleetOwner

 

[Wolfgang]

Despite COVID-19: BharatBenz Reaches Production Milestone of New Truck Range

Chennai / Stuttgart – Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), Daimler’s commercial vehicle subsidiary in India, reached its first production milestone of the all-new heavy-duty truck range (HDT) in India. Despite COVID-19 restraints in India, DICV managed to bring its 1000th BSVI-compliant BharatBenz HDT off the line at its Chennai plant in Q2 2020. The milestone 1000th BSVI heavy-duty truck was a 3523R model.

In January 2020, DICV premiered its all-new BharatBenz commercial vehicle portfolio for India. The brand’s new trucks and buses comply with the country’s new emission norm BSVI (Euro VI equivalent), introduced in April 2020. Until now 1500 BSVI-compliant trucks and buses the company has manufactured in the last few months despite the severe impact of several COVID-19 related lockdowns in Chennai. Although production has recently proved a challenge for many manufacturers in the automotive industry, DICV has remained firmly on track throughout the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global pandemic has led to a considerable negative impact on the economy of India. Consequently, the commercial vehicle market has also seen a massive decline in sales. Despite those challenging circumstances, BharatBenz has firmly established itself as a leading brand in the industry following the introduction of the new emission norms. Customer feedback about the new trucks and buses has been very positive.

Further information on BharatBenz and Daimler Trucks & Buses are available at:

www.bharatbenz.com, www.media.daimler.com and www.daimler-truck.com

 

[hannaz]

Despite COVID-19: BharatBenz Reaches Productio...

@Wolfgang I was about to post it, . In fact a big Milestone for the brand in a market like India which was ruled by two brands, Tata & Ashok Leyland, for decades.

 

[bialkov]

Karin Rådström takes over management of Mercedes-Benz Trucks on 1 February 2021

Karin Rådström will start her appointment as Member of the Board of Management, Daimler Truck AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Trucks, on 1 February 2021. Rådström most recently has been responsible for sales and marketing at Scania as a member of the Executive Board. Sweden-born Rådström started at Scania as a trainee in 2004 after graduating with a Master of Engineering in Industrial Management from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. Since 2007, she has held various managerial positions within Scania’s sales and service organization including the Head of the company’s bus and coach business as well as starting up the connected vehicle business.

Rådström succeeds Stefan Buchner, who retired in October 2020.

 

[bialkov]

Joint venture for large-scale production of fuel-cells: Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG sign binding agreement for new fuel-cell joint venture

Stuttgart, Germany / Gothenburg, Sweden – The Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG have now a signed binding agreement for a joint venture to develop, produce and commercialize fuel-cell systems for use in heavy-duty trucks as the primary focus, as well as other applications. The ambition of both partners is to make the new company a leading global manufacturer of fuel-cells, and thus help the world take a major step towards climate-neutral and sustainable transportation by 2050. The Volvo Group will acquire 50 percent of the partnership interests in Daimler Truck Fuel Cell GmbH & Co. KG for approximately EUR 0.6 billion on a cash and debt-free basis. Closing of the transaction is expected during the first half of 2021. The transaction is still subject to merger control review by relevant authorities, as well as other approvals.

“For us at Daimler Truck AG and our intended partner, the Volvo Group, the hydrogen-based fuel-cell is a key technology for enabling CO2-neutral transportation in the future. We are both fully committed to the Paris Climate Agreement for decarbonizing road transport and other areas, and to building a prosperous jointly held company that will deliver large volumes of fuel-cell systems,” says Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG and Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG.

The joint venture will take advantage of the expertise and extensive experience from several decades of development work on fuel-cells at Daimler.

“In the future, the world will be powered by a combination of battery-electric and fuel-cell electric vehicles, along with other renewable fuels to some extent. The formation of our fuel-cell joint venture is an important step in shaping a world we want to live in,” says Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO of the Volvo Group.

Together, the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG have tremendous and longstanding experience in technology development, industrialization and large-scale vehicle production. The future joint venture will be able to benefit from this from the start, which is a unique position for a start-up company. Deep and proven knowledge of modularity, efficiency and reliability will be in place from the get-go, as well as world-leading processes in areas such as quality, production technology and industrialization.

Daimler Truck AG and the Volvo Group are both successful global players thanks to a deep understanding of their customers' businesses, enabling them to maximize customer value. The future joint venture will build on that tradition to take a similar position in fuel-cells that the Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG have in commercial vehicles.

In addition to trucks, there are also other areas of application for this type of fuel-cell system. The joint venture will develop a system with several power stages, including a twin system with 300 kW continuous power for heavy-duty long-haul trucks. Based on the demanding conditions in heavy-duty truck applications, the joint venture’s products are also ideally suited for other use cases such as stationary power generation.

In 2020, Rolls-Royce plc and Daimler Truck AG signed an agreement to cooperate on stationary fuel-cell generators for the CO2-neutral emergency power supply of critical facilities such as data centers. The intention is to offer emission-free alternatives to diesel engines, which are currently applied in generators for emergency use. A final cooperation agreement is expected to be signed by the end of the year.

The Volvo Group and Daimler Truck AG will own equal interests in the joint venture, but continue to be competitors in all other areas such as vehicle technology and fuel-cell integration in trucks.

Both companies' goal is to start with customer tests of trucks with fuel-cells in about three years and to be in series production during the second half of this decade.

Closing of the transaction is expected during the first half of 2021. The transaction is still subject to merger control review by the relevant authorities, as well as other approvals.

https://media.daimler.com/marsMedia...eXBlSWQ9MTcyJmZyb21JbmZvVHlwZUlkPTQwNjI2&rs=0
https://media.daimler.com/marsMedia...eXBlSWQ9MTcyJmZyb21JbmZvVHlwZUlkPTQwNjI2&rs=0