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going sovereign-debt crisis and the resulting economic
weakness. So, at best, demand in that market can only
be expected to be as strong as last year. Market contrac-
tion of up to 10 per cent is not impossible from today’s
perspective, but Daimler foresees a better development
in the second half of the year than in the first. The Japa-
nese market for heavy- and medium-duty trucks should
expand once again by 5 to 10% compared with the prior
year, thanks to the country’s economic growth, which is
benefiting from the reconstruction efforts.
Overall demand for trucks in the emerging markets
should grow only moderately this year. In China, new
registrations are expected to normalize, after they had
already fallen last year with the withdrawal of State in-
centives for truck buyers. Demand in India is likely to
stabilize. The Brazilian market, which is important to
Daimler, will probably experience a drop in demand of
10-15 per cent following introduction of more stringent
emission regulations (similar to Euro V). In Russia,
growth rates should be significantly more moderate than
in the past two years.
Buses Division
The Daimler Buses Division with its brands Mer-
cedes-Benz, Setra and Orion, continues to be the
world’s leading manufacturer with a large margin in its
core markets in the segment of buses and coaches above
8 tons. The product range supplied by Daimler Buses
covers city and inter-city buses, coaches and bus chas-
sis. The most important of the 15 production sites are
in Germany, France, Spain, Turkey, Argentina, Brazil,
Canada, Mexico and the US.
In 2011, 43 per cent of Daimler Buses’ revenue was
generated in Western Europe, 11 per cent in the NAFTA
markets and 29 per cent in Latin America (excluding
Mexico). While the company mainly sells complete
vehicle zone
Daimler Buses clearly maintained the leading position
in all its key markets, despite weaker market demand
for complete buses. The company further increased its
unit sales in 2011, defending its leadership in its core
markets in the segment of buses over 8 tons. With the
presentation of the new Mercedes-Benz Citaro, it is set-
ting new benchmarks in the premium city-bus segment.
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MOTORINDIA
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August 2012