The management board and supervisory board of German car and truck maker Daimler have given the go-ahead for the group to split in two: Mercedes-Benz Group and Daimler Truck.

Daimler shareholders are set to decide on the company realignment at an extraordinary general meeting on October 1.

Daimler says a decision has also been made to rename Daimler to Mercedes-Benz Group as of February 1, next year. 

This step is intended to emphasise the future focus of the company on the car and van business with the Mercedes-Benz brand, as well as the sub-brands Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes-EQ, the latter being the electric brand.

“Throughout Daimler’s history, the courage to fundamentally reinvent the company has been the key to its success,” says Daimler supervisory board chairperson Bernd Pischetsrieder.

“With the spin-off, the two independent listed companies will be able to fully concentrate on their differing customer groups and, therefore, become more efficient and more successful.”

“In the future, the car and van business will focus even more on the premium and luxury segment and will consistently utilise its growth and profitability opportunities,” adds Daimler and Mercedes-Benz management board chairperson Ola Källenius. 

“As the most valuable luxury car brand, Mercedes-Benz aims for leadership in electric drive and vehicle software.” 

Daimler Truck comprises the brands Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner, Western Star, Fuso and BharatBenz, and the bus brands are Mercedes-Benz, Setra, Thomas Built Buses and Fuso. 

“Up until now, we had to travel in a convoy,” says Daimler Truck management board chairperson Martin Daum.

“In the future, we’ll be able to plan our own route and choose the best route for us. 

“This will enable us to make faster progress with our objective – we will lead the way to emission-free transport by accelerating the development of battery and fuel-cell vehicles. 

“At the same time, we want to significantly increase our profitability.” 

What will the impact of the global move be for the local operations of Mercedes-Benz South Africa and Daimler Trucks and Buses Southern Africa (DTBSA), both subsidiaries of the Daimler group in Germany?

“Although operations in South Africa are supposed to be a part of the split-off project, we unfortunately cannot share more or specific information at this stage,” says DTBSA president and CEO Michael Dietz.

“However, in the interim we can confirm that DTBSA is already a 100% subsidiary of Daimler Truck, in Stuttgart, as of January 1, 2021, and this will remain so within the upcoming overall new structure.”