Daimler-Truck-Chef Martin Daum in Tokio
In der Lkw-Industrie entsteht unter dem Zwang zu klimafreundlicheren Antrieben ein neues Schwergewicht: Der weltgrößte Lkw-Bauer Daimler Truck und der japanische Toyota-Konzern kündigten am Dienstag an, ihre Nutzfahrzeug-Töchter Mitsubishi Fuso und Hino Motors zusammenzulegen.
Hierzu sei eine Absichtserklärung unterzeichnet worden. Geplant sei eine Fusion unter Gleichen, deren Details noch ausgehandelt würden. Ein erheblicher Teil der Aktien des fusionierten Unternehmens, das an der Börse Tokio gelistet werden solle, soll von Dritten gehalten werden.
Triebfeder des Deals dürfte einerseits der scharfe Wettbewerb im Segment der leichten Lastwagen und Nutzfahrzeuge in Asien sein. Andererseits heben Insider die enormen Investitionen hervor, die nötig sind, um Hunderttausende Trucks in den kommenden Jahren zu elektrifizieren. Mit Blick nach vorn seien größere Skaleneffekte unerlässlich.
Daimler Truck: Enttäuschende Renditen im Asien-Geschäft
Daimler Truck veröffentlicht zwar keine separate Bilanz von Fuso, aber die japanische Einheit dürfte für den Großteil des Geschäftsvolumens der Asien-Sparte des Dax-Konzerns verantwortlich sein. Und diese schwächelt gehörig. Im vergangenen Jahr ist der Betriebsgewinn der Schwaben in Asien von 427 auf 171 Millionen Euro abgestürzt. Das entspricht einem Rückgang von 60 Prozent.
Dabei konnte Daimler Truck mit Fuso und der indischen Tochter Bharat Benz den Absatz auf 156.000 Fahrzeuge um neun Prozent steigern. Der Umsatz legte sogar um 14 Prozent zu, auf rund 6,5 Milliarden Euro. Die bereinigte Umsatzrendite fiel mit 2,6 Prozent aber enttäuschend aus – zumal die anderen beiden Divisionen in Nordamerika und Europa ihre Margen kräftig steigern konnten.
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In the first quarter, the Asia division of Daimler Trucks was able to increase its profit margin to 4.6 percent. This means that the area is still not even half as profitable as the US company.
Daimler Truck has held a good 90 percent of the shares in Fuso since 2011. The company manufactures a variety of trucks and buses in Japan, India and Portugal. According to Fuso, it sells its vehicles in 170 countries.
Electrification of truck fleets should be pushed
Daimler Truck and Toyota have also agreed to consider potential risks related to the Hino emissions manipulation scandal when evaluating the Toyota subsidiary.
With the merger, both groups want to push the electrification of truck fleets in Asia. In addition to the battery, both companies also rely heavily on the hydrogen-based fuel cell. To this end, investments should also be made in technologies for networking vehicles and automated driving (CASE).
“There’s a great future ahead of us – and today’s announcement is a crucial step in shaping that future economically and leading the way in sustainable transportation,” said Martin Daum, CEO of Daimler Trucks. Toyota CEO Koji Sato added: “Our four companies will work together with a common vision to achieve carbon neutrality by strengthening CASE technologies.”
Production at Mitsubishi Fuso
The company manufactures a variety of trucks and buses in Japan, India and Portugal.
(Photo: Reuters)
The Japanese adventure is drawing to a close for Daimler Trucks. In 2000, the then Daimler-Chrysler group joined the carmaker Mitsubishi Motors. At the time, analysts suspected that Daimler was primarily targeting the commercial vehicle subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso.
And so it happened. Daimler separated from the ailing car business and kept Fuso. Over time, the group expanded the Japanese subsidiary into the core of the Asian business. Fuso became a competence center for smaller electric trucks such as the eCanter, the second generation of which is now rolling off the assembly line. The Kawasaki headquarters also houses a state-of-the-art design center that is part of Daimler Trucks global truck development.
Toyota subsidiary Hino is under economic pressure
Hino is part of the Toyota group and is fighting for market leadership in Japan. But that doesn’t protect the company from consolidation pressure. Sato’s predecessor, Akio Toyoda, had pushed the company to work more closely with local rivals Isuzu.
However, a scandal involving fake engine registrations increased the pressure on management. In March of the past financial year, global sales fell by 7.6 percent to around 145,000 trucks. In Japan, sales fell by 38 percent to 21,991 vehicles. Net income shrank 58 percent to 15.8 billion yen (105 billion euros).
Details on the scope and nature of the collaboration, including name, location and ownership structure, are expected to be determined over the next 18 months. Daimler Truck and Toyota want to seal the final contracts at the beginning of next year, and the transaction should be completed by the end of 2024. With agency material
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