Daimler Trucks Widens Global Parts Sharing to Bolster Profit
- Division is confident of 8% margin, unit chief Bernhard says
- Mercedes-Benz trucks marque plans to become leaner by 2018
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Daimler AG’s trucks division, seeking to recover from a profit warning last month, aims to boost future earnings with a plan to cut costs by sharing more engines, axles and other components across units in North America, Europe and Asia.
Once truck markets return to “a more normal level,” the unit will reach its target of an average 8 percent return on sales, Wolfgang Bernhard, head of Daimler’s commercial-vehicle business, said at a press conference Wednesday in Stuttgart, Germany. A key to boosting profit will be using more vehicle parts worldwide and improve efficiency, he said.