Fleet Management News & Business Info | Commercial Carrier Journal
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18 commercial carrier journal | january 2018 Daimler aims to tackle challenges of Mexican truck market "I really believe in the future of this country," said Martin Daum, head of Daimler's global trucks business, speak- ing to an audience of press and Mexican fleets at the 2017 Expo Transporte in Guadalajara, Mexico. Daum kicked off the press conference in which key executives of DTNA and Daimler Trucks Mexico noted the challenges facing the Mexican truck market, as well as the potential for the contin- ued development of the country's infrastructure and transporta- tion industry. "I really believe Daimler plays a crucial role" in that devel- opment, Daum said, noting his company's ambition to bring a lineup of tractors and trucks that fit the Mexican market's unique needs. "What we had nine or 10 years ago was not our aspiration. I said we could do better, and we did," he said. However, despite OEMs' attempts to bring modern equipment to developing Latin American countries, a lack of regulations and capital has led to stagnation in modernizing the Mexican market and bringing it up to the emissions standards of trucks operating in the United States and Europe. e country's truck fleet "is very old," said Flavio Rivera, pres- ident and CEO of Daimler Trucks Mexico. "When we talk about emissions, it is in the Euro 2 standard" that is more than 20 years old, having been enacted in the 1990s. "We are very far away from the (current) Euro 5 standards, so we are very concerned. Our concern is not only to have the technology available in our trucks, but the Mexican market in fact has not made progress itself." Rivera said Daimler is trying to institute a project to allow old- er fleets to transition to new equipment "so we are able to scrap all these old vehicles." He said 1,700 trucks have been updated this year as part of the initiative. Daimler also is trying to sell fleets on the lower total cost of ownership of modern vehicles, such as reduced fuel consumption and lower maintenance costs. – James Jaillet Mercedes previews next-gen Sprinter M ercedes-Benz Vans last month offered a sneak preview of its next-generation Sprint- er, a highly versatile van that the company said is positioned to take on emerging challenges facing transportation and logistics companies, including the growing final-mile segment. e company described the new Sprinter, sched- uled to be introduced by Mercedes in February, as a shapeshier, available in about 1,000 differ- ent configurations, including four different body lengths, variable cargo space heights and variable tonnage capabilities, making the vehicle suited for a wide range of applications to address industry megatrends such as e-commerce, urbanization and globalization. "e city is the living and working space of our vehicles," said Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, during a global media event held at MBV's Innovation Campus in Stuttgart, Germany. "e things that make cities livable aren't possible without vans. In a digitized world, they take hardware to cities and to our customers. Our vans also have to change as city life changes." While e-commerce already has revolutionized the world's economy — and with it, freight trans- portation — it's poised to continue to grow into new business segments such as the food industry, Mornhinweg said. Smart routing, connected freight management and electromobility also are featured in the new Sprinter, making it "the perfect answer to the challenges of the modern transportation industry," he said. Freight transportation companies and vehicle suppliers such as MBV will need "holistic vehicle solutions" to meet the demands and challenges of an ever-changing economy, Mornhinweg said. "We're starting with vans because of the enormous developments in cities, and these innovations cre- ate challenges for us and our customers," he said. – James Jaillet Flavio Rivera, head of Daimler Trucks Mexico, and Martin Daum, head of Daimler Trucks global trucks busi- ness, spoke about the challenges facing the Mexican truck market during a press event held at the Expo Trans- porte in Guadalajara, Mexico. Mercedes-Benz Vans described the new Sprinter, scheduled to be introduced in February, as a shape- shifter, available in about 1,000 different configurations.