Daimler Targets 80% Hike in Asia Truck Sales

Daimler AG wants Asia to contribute more than 40% of its commercial sales volume by 2020 compared with about 34% today, The Nikkei reports.

Daimler Truck chief Wolfgang Bernhard tells the newspaper the company will achieve its target by stepping up competition with local truckmakers. That group is led by China's Dongfeng Motor Corp., which sells some 240,000 trucks per year in the region.

Daimler's previously stated goal is to boost annual sales of commercial trucks across Asia to 290,000 units in 2020 from 160,000 last year. The company aims for worldwide sales of 700,000 commercial vehicles by then.

Daimler's strategy includes promoting special Fuso trucks, which share their platforms with Daimler's medium- and heavy-duty trucks, at prices below Daimler-brand trucks and those made by Japan affiliate Mitsubishi Fuso.

The company also has made India a regional heavy-truck export base. India builds Daimler's BharatBenz brand trucks, which were developed by Mitsubishi Fuso, and exports them to 15 Asian markets.