Daimler SA reshapes to better serve the southern African market

Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern Africa (DTBSA) has been the pinnacle of the commercial vehicle industry for over 60 years, offering market-leading transport solutions and services across the region. The recently announced Daimler AG separation into two purely-play independent companies heralds a new dawn for DTBSA, as it prepares to officially transition into a completely independent and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG effective from December 1. This historic milestone represents the start of a profound reshaping of DTBSA, and with a truck- and bus-dedicated and customer-centric corporate structure going forward, the company will continue to drive a sustainable transport system to better serve the growing business needs of the southern Africa market. Michael Dietz, the president and CEO of DTBSA, commented on the new business structure. “This is indeed a massive turning point for us as DTBSA and a huge investment for the southern Africa market. We have done some groundbreaking changes previously, like the establishment of DTBSA as a legal entity in 2019 and more recently the founding of our very own captive financial mobility services, Daimler Trucks Financial Services (DTFS). I firmly believe that the new set-up promotes the necessary focus into our core business, creates favourable conditions for us to be more competitive and accelerates the development of key technologies for us to continue to provide cutting-edge products and services to fulfil the special needs of our customers. It is without a doubt that this independence is fully aligned with our growth strategy and further strengthens our foothold within the markets we operate in. As we gear up to a smooth transition, our commitment for all who keep Africa moving remains unchanged.” In totality, a significant investment of up to R1b has been made available to ensure continuity in operation, adequate resources and suitable working infrastructure for the DTBSA business. This new robust set-up will comprise of the sales and marketing, customer service and parts, own retail, manufacturing plant and value-added services, which include TruckStore, FleetBoard, Mercedes-Benz Uptime, Service24h, TruckParts, and FUSO Value Parts. In addition to this, for the first time as part of the new structure, DTBSA will have a dedicated captive financial and mobility service, DTFS. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of DTBSA, DTFS will play a fundamental role in driving sales with tailor-made financing, leasing and mobility solutions, increasing retention and building customer loyalty, which enables a commercial vehicle-dedicated and customer-centric support to the market. Furthermore to the new business, the DTBSA production plant in East London will continue to operate from the main location with clear and seamless integration of Mercedes-Benz and FUSO brands and will have the same level of access to the key production areas, such as the harbor, depots/storage centres, testing grounds, and the training academy. DTBSA and its dedicated partners remain fully committed to the future of southern Africa, as we welcome a new dawn for all who keep Africa moving. Source: QuickPic