・	In just seven months, Daimler Trucks has completed the opening of all six regional centers (RC) including the latest two – RC Southern Asia in Chennai, India and RC Latin America in Brazil – for all brands including FUSO and BharatBenz
・	Daimler Trucks Asia (DTA) is set to utilize the full-scale operations in order to increase its global presence and market share
・	RC Southern Asia is responsible for six markets and RC Latin America 34 markets for their sales and customer services
・	Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses: “Within just seven months we have succeeded in realigning our sales and service organization in key regions of growth – close to our customers and with a clear focus on commercial vehicles. In Southern Asia we are now launching the last of a total of six new regional centers. This will also enable us to offer tailored products and services from a single source to our customers in markets such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar or Nepal”

Kawasaki, Japan– Daimler Trucks Asia (DTA) is set to utilize the full-scale operations from the completion of the launch of all six Daimler Regional Centers. Through this, DTA aims to expand sales and customer services for its Fuso and BharatBenz brands.

Daimler Trucks has successfully completed the regionalisation of its sales and service organization for its commercial vehicle business in key regions of growth. Today’s opening of the center for the Southern Asia region in Chennai, India, is the last of the six regional centers. Since opening the first in Dubai in October 2015, Daimler Trucks has realigned its sales and services activities in all key regions of growth within a period of around just seven months, and is now gaining closer local presence to its customers. The new regional center, Daimler Commercial Vehicles Center Southern Asia (DSA), is responsible for six markets, including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. With immediate effect, the center in Chennai is supporting the sales and services activities of FUSO trucks and buses, BharatBenz trucks, and Mercedes-Benz trucks.

“Within just seven months we have succeeded in realigning our sales and service organization in key regions of growth – close to our customers and with a clear focus on commercial vehicles. In the region of Southern Asia we are now launching the last of a total of six new regional centers. This will also enable us to offer tailored products and services from a single source to our customers in markets such as Sri Lanka, Myanmar or Nepal. In the past year, Daimler Commercial Vehicles has succeeded in selling 43% more units in the Southern Asia region compared to the previous year – a figure which illustrates the potential for growth in this region,” explains Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses.

Added Mr. Marc Llistosella, President and CEO of MFTBC and Head of Daimler Trucks Asia: “The Regional Centers are an excellent example of how Daimler Trucks Asia directly benefits from the global reach of our parent Daimler. We expect these Regional Centers across the globe to provide us with substantial further momentum for exports both from Japan and India.”

Southern Asia: DTA aims to enhance its presence in new entry markets

The business of Daimler’s commercial vehicle divisions in the Southern Asian region comprises the six markets of Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives.

“We are very positive about this region”, said Amit Bisht, Head of the Regional Center Southern Asia. “Demand across our brands and product lines has already been favorable, and with our new setup we see great potential to capture additional sales for Daimler.” The gross domestic product in the six markets, which most recently has averaged around 6 percent in 2014, shows clear potential for growth. Sri Lanka is already an important market for Daimler Trucks’ commercial vehicle business. Daimler Trucks has been represented there for 40 years and especially FUSO has maintained the biggest market share amongst Japanese brands for the sixth year in a row. In Myanmar and Nepal, the company is facing a promising future after entering the market about 2 years ago. Besides the fact that both markets are highly significant for the used commercial vehicle business in particular, FUSO and BharatBenz have been well-recognized in the markets and will further increase their sales.

Latin America: DTA shows strong presence in Peru and all-new FUSO range accelerates its sales in the region

FUSO has maintained the biggest market share in Peru; particularly, the light-duty truck Canter and light-bus ROSA have been well-recognized for their high engine performance and durability.

DTA has started selling its all-new FUSO truck range in Chile, Dominican Republic, Panama, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, Bolivia, Costa Rica, and Honduras since last year and has also a plan to introduce the range in the remaining markets. The all-new FUSO vehicles, will thus accelerate its sales and presence in this region.

Regional Center Middle East & North Africa:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Yemen.

Regional Center Central Africa:
Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Western Sahara.

Regional Center Southern Africa:
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Regional Center South East Asia:
Brunei, Cambodia, Fiji, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vanuatu and Vietnam.

Regional Center Southern Asia:
Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Myanmar, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Regional Center Latin America:
Antigua, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, Surinam, Trinidad & Tobago, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Daimler Trucks Asia combines the strength of two distinct legal entities Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), collaborating on a range of topics ranging from product development, production and R&D to Sales & market development activities.

Based in Kawasaki, Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. In 2015, the company sold a total of about 154,200 vehicles including light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses as FUSO brand. Daimler AG owns 89.29% and various Mitsubishi group companies own 10.71% of MFTBC shares. MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks division of Daimler AG.

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) is a 100% subsidiary of Daimler AG, Stuttgart, Germany. DICV is a full-fledged commercial vehicle player in the Indian market. It currently produces and sells above 9 to 49 tons trucks for the Indian volume market, under the brand BharatBenz. BharatBenz stands for Indian engineering with German DNA. Under its bus division, the company produces and sells BharatBenz buses and Mercedes-Benz buses from its manufacturing plant at Oragadam. Bharat-Benz products have been engineered to serve all major customer segments with a focus on total-cost-of ownership, safety, reliability and comfort. The DICV-built FUSO trucks from Oragadam are exported to markets in South East Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

The state-of-the-art production plant at Oragadam, near Chennai, spreads over 400 acres (160 hectares). It includes a modern test track designed to simulate Indian conditions – making it one of its kinds in Asia. DICV has made an initial investment of 4,400cr and additional 425cr for the bus plant facility (approximately €750 million). Sustainability being a core of Daimler’s corporate culture, DICV will focus on creating efficient, reliable and ecologically friendly products.