Company ... Mercedes Benz
Middle East

Daimler opens HQ for MENA truck business in Dubai

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Daimler opens HQ for MENA truck business in Dubai

Daimler has opened Daimler Commercial Vehicles MENA, its first regional centre for commercial vehicles, in Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), which decentralises the responsibility for 19 country markets across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, from Morocco to Pakistan, away from its Stuttgart headquarters.

The new entity will be responsible for the group's full commercial vehicles portfolio in the region – from the Mercedes-Benz Citan van and light Fuso trucks to the heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz Actros truck, and will also handle the upcoming re-uptake of commercial vehicle activities in Iran.

Dr Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler AG board of management member responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses, said: 'Our new regional centre will focus entirely on the commercial vehicle business, and allow us to respond even faster and better to the needs of our customers.

'We are convinced that this new setup is an important step in order to benefit further from the growth potential of this region in the sales and after-sales business.'

MENA is a promising growth region for Daimler’s commercial vehicles; while its experts predict growth of just 2.5% from 2016 to 2019, the expansion rate in the region should rise to more than 4% on an annual average.

Roland Schneider, president and CEO, Daimler Commercial Vehicles MENA, commented: “This centre is a clear sign of our commitment to the region. These markets are very important, offering substantial potential for growth, and today’s opening in Dubai represents the next logical step.”

HE Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, chairman of DP World and JAFZA, commented: “We are pleased with Daimler AG’s decision to establish its new regional centre for commercial vehicles in Dubai.

“As a world-class facilitator and logistics hub, we are committed to providing our customers with all the support needed to make their operations seamless, and to position Dubai as the most favoured investment destination in the world.”

The three biggest sales markets in the region for Daimler’s trucks, vans and buses are UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt – these three countries accounting for approximately two thirds of all deliveries. Between 2011 and 2014, the MENA sales of trucks, buses and vans grew by an average of 23% each year, with the group selling 45,900 commercial vehicles into the region at most recent count in 2014.

Daimler AG first established its cross-divisional sales entity DaimlerChrysler Middle East in Dubai in 1998, becoming Daimler Middle East & Levant following the separation from Chrysler in 2008.

The division of the group into dedicated passenger and commercial vehicle business units took place at the end of 2014.