After boosting global sales by five per cent in 2013, Daimler Trucks has announced restructuring plans for the company’s Australian arm that will see Daniel Whitehead take on the role of Managing Director.
Following the global restructuring of parent company Daimler AG, Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific has announced that Daniel Whitehead – currently serving as Executive Vice President of Aftersales China – will take on the role of Managing Director of Daimler’s Truck and Bus unit.
Horst von Sanden remains in the role of Managing Director Mercedes-Benz Cars Australia & New Zealand, and takes on the additional responsibility of Chief Executive Officer of Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific.
“This is an exciting time for Daimler in Australia with the full integration of Sales, Marketing, Service and Parts into the respective business units of Passenger Cars, Daimler Truck and Bus and Service and Mercedes-Benz Vans. We know this will give us an even greater ability to meet our customer’s expectations,” said von Sanden.
The announcement omitted mentioning the recall of Daimler’s current commercial vehicle Managing Director, Kolja Rebstock (pictured) back to his native Germany. Details on his new role have not been revealed as well.
Globally, the trucking powerhouse sold 484,200 vehicles in 2013, which is the highest sales figure recorded since 2006 – equating to earnings of €1.75 billion ($2.7 billion).
“We accomplished what we set out to do in 2013, despite operating in a challenging environment,” said Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Daimler Board of Management with responsibility for Trucks and Buses.
Bernhard is also optimistic about 2014. “We began the new year as we expected to,” he explained. “I’m optimistic that we will remain on course for success in 2014 and move a good step closer toward achieving our medium-term targets.”
While truck sales increased in nearly all relevant markets, the company’s Australian division suffered a 25 per cent drop in sales for January 2014 compared to the same month 2013. Overall, truck registrations in Australia were down 7.7 per cent in January.
Despite that setback, Daimler Trucks expects to record a “significant increase” in sales in 2014. Globally, Mercedes-Benz Trucks plans to further consolidate its good position in Europe by offering a completely new range of products and exploiting the high level of acceptance it enjoys on the European market.
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