In the second quarter of 2013, the Daimler Group sold 605,800 cars and commercial vehicles worldwide, surpassing the prior year total by 6%.
Daimler Trucks’ second-quarter unit sales were slightly above the prior-year level at 123,800 vehicles (+1%). In Western Europe, the sales of 14,300 units were only slightly lower than in the prior-year quarter, despite a significant market decline in the medium and heavy segments. This resulted in an increased market share of 24.0% (Q2 2012: 23.3%). With sales of 5,900 units in Turkey, the company was able to sell 14% more vehicles than in the second quarter of 2012, contrary to the general market development, and increased its market share to 51.2% (Q2 2012: 45%).
The company improved on its prior-year unit sales also in the NAFTA region with 34,900 vehicles sold (Q2 2012: 34,600), although demand for Class 6-8 trucks was significantly weaker than in the second quarter of last year, and its market share rose to 38.3% (Q2 2012: 31.5%). A significant factor for the success was strong demand for the Cascadia Evolution, which, amongst other improvements, achieves enhanced fuel efficiency as a result of optimized aerodynamics and powertrain. In addition, Daimler was the first producer in North America to offer a completely integrated powertrain. The Latin American market continued along its path of moderate recovery; Daimler’s unit sales there increased by 57% to 16,100 vehicles. The unit sales in Japan were lower than in the prior-year period for market reasons, but it was able to defend its market position. In India, it significantly increased the unit sales as part of the business expansion there, although the overall market contracted significantly.
Despite a difficult market environment in Western Europe, Mercedes-Benz Vans slightly improved on its unit sales of the prior-year period, selling 69,400 vehicles in the second quarter (Q2 2012: 69,300), including Sprinter, Vito, Viano and new Citan (open to the market in fall of 2012, excluding Chinese market). The sales of 42,500 units in Western Europe were significantly lower than in the prior-year period (Q2 2012: 46,500).
The development in Eastern Europe was positive; sales in this region increased by 11% to 7,200 units. There was continued strong demand for Daimler products in growth market Russia. Mercedes-Benz Vans posted excellent sales figures in Latin America; due to the high demand for the current generation of the Sprinter, Daimler more than doubled its unit sales compared with the prior-year period in this growth market to sell 5,200 vehicles. In Brazil and Argentina, the Sprinter gained market leadership in the large-van segment with a market share of 24%. In the United States, it posted a slight sales decrease to 6,100 units (Q2 2012: 6,300).
Daimler Buses sold 7,900 buses and bus chassis worldwide in the second quarter of 2013 (Q2 2012: 8,400). In Western Europe, it achieved growth in the business with complete buses with an 8% sales increase to 1,500 units in this region. In Latin America, sales of 4,500 units were slightly lower than in the prior-year period (Q2 2012: 4,700). The unit sales decreased significantly in the NAFTA region, as expected following the repositioning of the North American business system in 2012 and the discontinued production of Orion buses. Sales of 700 units in Mexico were also lower than in the prior-year quarter.
