News

04 May 2006

New Zealand Shares In Sales Success

New commercial vehicle registrations were up a staggering 43.5% on 2004 for DaimlerChrysler New Zealand, making it the second-best year on record for the company.

Heavy trucks led the success with 241 registrations, making 2005 the best year yet for DaimlerChrysler.

Worldwide, sales of DaimlerChrysler commercial vehicles totaled a staggering 824,900 – up almost 16% on the 712,200 new trucks, buses and vans sold during 2004.

The Board of Management member responsible for commercial vehicles, Andreas Renschler, says the record sales were “confirmation that our trucks, buses and vans are extraordinarily popular with customers all over the world.

“To take on the challenges in the years ahead we will be relying on initiatives for optimizing our operative processes and growth in new and existing markets, as well as on exciting new products like the new Mercedes-Benz Sprinter.”

In New Zealand, DaimlerChrysler commercial vehicles General Manager Ian Walker puts the success of his team and dealers down to the huge product line-up, which ensures there is a vehicle to suit all commercial applications.

Freightliner was the star on the heavy truck side, with sales up 30% from 2004, while Sterling managed a rise of 21% and Mercedes-Benz 16%.

Despite the fact that large one-off sales to the camper van mark distort the figures for vans, 2005 was the second-best year on record for Mercedes-Benz vans. Sales of Sprinter vans jumped 28% from 2004, while the new Vito range saw an amazing 115% rise.

The total of 532 commercial vehicles sold by DaimlerChrysler also saw it pass a milestone by topping 3000 new trucks and vans on the road in the six years since the start of the new millennium. An indication that the brand’s international growth is set to continue is a 31% increase in sales in Asia, where the group delivered 165,600 units.

North America was also a happy hunting ground for DaimlerChrysler with sales up 20% to 182,400. The Freightliner LLC remained the leader in the Class 8 heavy-duty segment of the United States market, increasing its share to an astonishing 36%.

Mercedes-Benz increased sales by 8%, to about 148,000 vehicles, in the European and Latin American markets. This was helped by the launch of BlueTec diesel technology, which enables the Actros, Axor and Atego trucks to meet Euro 5 emission standards, making them the most up-to-date on the market. Sales in the sophisticated core Western Europe market rose by 12%.

Debut of the new Fuso Canter in Europe and Fighter in Japan helped the German-Japanese management team at Fuso sell around 178,900 trucks and buses.

Worldwide sales of Mercedes-Benz, Setra and Orion buses and coaches topped 36,200, up 10% from 2004.

And the Mercedes-Benz Vans business unit registered a 2.5% increase with 267,200 units sold.

The Sprinter, in its last year before the launch of a new model this year, achieved record production of 167,000 units, including 28,100 sold under Mercedes-Benz, Dodge and Freightliner name plates in North America.

Growing demand in the region has led DaimlerChrysler to dedicate its Charleston, South Carolina, facility to assemblyof the next-generation Dodge Sprinter vans.