Ola Källenius, chairman of the Board of Management, Daimler AG and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Cars, outlined the new restructuring within the company.
As of this week, the Daimler Group is operating with new corporate structure that separates the car and van and the truck and bus businesses into two new subsidiaries.
“Two years ago, we launched Project Future to initiate a forward-looking structural transformation at Daimler, with three independent entities under one roof,” Ola Kallenius, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, noted.
“Our new structure makes us more focused and competitive to ensure a successful transformation to the mobility of the future with our sustainable business strategy. It is crucial that we focus on our customers and inspire them with exciting and innovative products and technologies,” he said.
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Three legally independent stock corporations now operate under the parent company Daimler AG.
Under the new structure, Mercedes-Benz Cars & Van is responsible for the passenger car and van business. All Daimler Trucks & Buses activities are conducted at Daimler Truck AG, according to Kallenius.
Daimler Financial Services, which has been legally independent for many years, was renamed Daimler Mobility AG in July. In addition to its longstanding business with vehicle financing and fleet management, Daimler Mobility is also responsible for mobility services.
The changes, however, don’t amount to a full-scale separation since Daimler AG continues on as the only company listed on stock exchanges in Europe and elsewhere. As the parent company with approximately 6,000 employees, Daimler AG will be responsible for governance, strategy and control functions, and will provide Group-wide services.
Mercedes-Benz AG and Daimler Truck AG are German stock corporations subject to codetermination and are based in Stuttgart. As required by law, the supervisory boards of the two companies will each comprise 20 members, 10 representing the shareholders and 10 representing the employees.
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Mercedes-Benz AG controls the global business of Mercedes-Benz Cars & Mercedes-Benz Vans with approximately 175,000 employees worldwide. Mercedes-Benz AG focuses on the development, production and sale of cars and vans and on the provision of related services. Mercedes-Benz AG is one of the largest manufacturers of premium automobiles.
Daimler Truck AG is responsible for the global truck and bus business. Approximately 100,000 employees worldwide develop, produce and market products and services from Daimler Trucks & Buses. With its subsidiaries, Daimler Truck AG is one the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles.
Martin Daum, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG, said, “Our customers are at the focus of everything we do: We work for all who keep the world moving.
“We can only be successful if we make our customers successful – and we do this with products that combine two things: local market requirements and our globally leading technologies,” Daum said.
Daimler Mobility AG is responsible for the Daimler Mobility division with 13,000 employees worldwide and is active for the entire Daimler Group as a provider of financing, leasing, insurance and fleet-management services. Daimler Mobility already finances and leases every second vehicle from Daimler AG worldwide and plans to further increase this proportion.
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“We offer our customers unique and flexible mobility services,” said Franz Reiner, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Mobility AG. “As an independent entity, we have been contributing to the success of the Daimler Group for many years in close cooperation with the vehicle divisions. This entrepreneurial freedom is extremely important for the transformation we are driving together,” he added.