Daimler Trucks gibt zum ersten Mal einen Ausblick auf seinen rein batterieelektrisch angetriebenen Fernverkehrs-Lkw: den Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul. Er soll ab Mitte des Jahrzehnts regelmäßige Fahrten auf planbaren Routen energieeffizient abdecken. Seine Reichweite mit einer Batterieaufladung wird bei etwa 500 Kilometer liegen.
For the first time, Daimler Trucks presents a preview of its purely battery-powered long-haul truck: the Mercedes-Benz eActros LongHaul. Starting from the middle of the decade, it is designed to cover regular journeys on plannable routes in an energy-efficient manner. Its range on one battery charge will be approximately 500 kilometers.
Daimler Truck has gone on the front foot after posting a decline in its fourth quarter 2024 earnings, vowing to cut costs at its Mercedes-Benz Trucks operation in by the equivalent of $AUD1.71 billion (€1 billion euros) while also facing up to potential damage to its North American brands due to the Trump administration’s latest tariff threats and movements.
The World’s oldest truck and bus manufacturer said it planned to achieve the savings at the Mercedes-Benz truck operation by 2030 at the latest and added that it has started talks with its works council.
Despite this Daimler says it expects 2025 to be a year of operational stability compared with last year, but with the market for heavy-duty trucks in Europe remaining weak this year.
“After a record year in 2023, the company’s financial performance in 2024 was impacted by a slowdown in demand in key markets, particularly affecting Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Europe,” Daimler Truck said in a statement to the markets..
In the final quarter of 2024 the company reported an EBITDA (earnings before interest and taxes) of $AUD1.88 billion (€ 1.10 billion euros) , compared with $AUD 2.67 billion (€1.56 billion euros) for the same quarter in 2023.
Daimler also reported that overall revenue for the quarter was down four per cent year on year with the 2024 final quarter revenue amounting to a total of $AUD 24.57 billion or €14.35 billion euros.
The headwinds for Daimler stiffened further in January with the company stating its truck sales volume was down 12 per cent on January 2023 due to sales declines at its North American truck operations, for Mercedes-Benz in Europe and for its Asian truck sales.
Despite the bad news Daimler has declared that its group earnings are expected to grow by between five and 15 per cent this year after falling 15 per cent to $AUD 8.5 billion or €4.7 billion euros in 2024.
The truckmaker has so far declined to provide details on the cost cutting except to say that there would be some staff reductions, mainly in its home country of Germany.
Daimler’s strong and influential works council said its positions was “far apart” from Daimer management, following talks with the board but added that negotiations would continue.
The company is clearly concerned when it comes to U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff obsession, given the company builds the biggest selling heavy truck in North America and has major plants in the U.S. as well as shipping many parts and components from other factories across the border in Mexico. However Daimler said the impact on its sales as a result of the tariffs was hard to calculate as yet, but did say that it would pass on any added costs to customers.
The company says that the uncertainty around tariffs has already weighed on its first quarter order intake, and has seen its shares fall following the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proclamation that it would reverse vehicle emissions rules, leaving investors worried that fleet firms would stop pre-ordering electric trucks.
On a phone hook up with key institutional investors Daimler said however that its guidance for North America was not dependent on the ‘pre-buy’ effect of ‘future EPA27 regulations’, even though it is one of the World’s leading battery electric truck (BEV) producers.
The company also told US markets that it believed its North American unit (Freightliner and Western Star) sales would remain roughly flat this year.
All European truckmakers have admitted that they faced tough challenges last year as sales declined following the record-breaking performance in 2023, which had been fuelled by pent-up demand following the pandemic.
Shares in European truckmakers have been volatile so far this year after the cautious outlook for European sales along with the uncertainty that has mounted around U.S. efforts to reverse electric vehicle incentives and rules. There were still hopes of higher order intake ahead of the expected Trump tariffs in the U.S. and resulting production shifts to the United States.
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