Daimler AG has successfully completed the regionalisation of its sales and service organization for its commercial vehicle business in key regions of growth. Today’s opening of the center for the Southern Asia region in Chennai, India, completes the launch of the last of six Regional Centers. Since opening the first Regional Center in Dubai in October 2015, Daimler Trucks has realigned its sales and services activities in all key regions of growth within a period of around just seven months, and as a result now has an even closer local presence to its customers. The new Regional Center, Daimler Commercial Vehicles Center Southern Asia (DSA), is responsible for six markets, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. With immediate effect, the center in Chennai is supporting the sales and services activities of BharatBenz trucks, Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses plus FUSO trucks and buses.
“Within just seven months we have succeeded in realigning our sales and service organization in key regions of growth – close to our customers and with a clear focus on commercial vehicles. In the region of Southern Asia we are now launching the last of a total of six new Regional Centers. This will also enable us to offer tailored products and services from a single source to our customers in markets such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar or Nepal. In the past year, Daimler Commercial Vehicles has succeeded in selling 43% more units in the Southern Asia region compared with the previous year – a figure which illustrates the potential for growth in this region,” explains Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses.
Southern Asia: growth region with a young population
The business of Daimler’s commercial vehicle divisions in the Southern Asia region comprises the six markets of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives.
The gross domestic product in the six markets, which most recently has averaged around 6 percent (2014), shows clear potential for growth. In total, no less than 1.75 billion inhabitants live in South East Asia and Southern Asia (compared with USA > 300 million; Europe > 500 million) – and almost one in three of the population is younger than 25 years of age. Sri Lanka is already an important market for Daimler’s commercial vehicle business. Daimler Trucks has been represented there for 40 years and has been the number one in the market for the sixth year in a row with its FUSO brand. In Myanmar and Nepal, the company is facing a promising future after entering the market around 2 years ago – both markets are highly significant for the used commercial vehicle business in particular.
First positive effects thanks to stronger regionalisation
The stronger regionalisation of the sales and service activities of Daimler’s commercial vehicle divisions is showing some initial success. The regional center for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), for example, has been able to report growing sales thanks to the newly entered North African markets (+6% in 2015). A further success: at the start of 2016, Mercedes-Benz Vans won a large order for 300 Sprinter ambulance vehicles from Egypt’s Ministry of Health. In the Southern Africa region, the Regional Center in Pretoria has been able to announce that it leads the market in South Africa for trucks (18%) and buses (29%) of the Mercedes-Benz brand.
Distribution activities in Cuba
This year in May, a delegation of Daimler Commercial Vehicles experts of the Regional Center Latina (Sao Bernardo do Campo) travelled to Cuba in order to present the current vehicle portfolio of the commercial vehicle brands Mercedes-Benz and FUSO to representatives of public authorities, customers and business partners. Since 1995, cars and commercial vehicles of Mercedes-Benz are distributed on the Caribbean island state by the semi-governmental Joint Venture MCV Cuba.
Strong sales network thanks to extensive Regional Centers
Overview of market responsibility of the Regional Centers:
With the opening of the sixth and final Regional Center Southern Asia, all of the Regional Centers of Daimler Commercial Vehicles are now operational
Regional Center Middle East & North Africa:Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen.
Regional Center Central Africa:Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara.
Regional Center Southern Africa:
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Regional Center South East Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam.
Regional Center Southern Asia:
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Regional Center Latina:
Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Surinam, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and Vene
