Daimler Truck aims to cut costs and increase profits in all regions by 2025 as it goes all out for electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, the world’s largest truck and bus maker said on Thursday. world.

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“Both technologies (electric and hydrogen) will be needed,” Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum said in a presentation to investors on Thursday. “And we intend to lead the way in both technologies.”

Daimler Truck said zero-emission vehicles are expected to account for 60% of its sales by 2030 and 100% of sales by 2039.

As truck manufacturers move towards a zero-emission world – and their sustainability goals become more important to their customers – electric trucks should be used for shorter distances, but the batteries needed for longer journeys would be too much. heavy and hydrogen fuel cells will be. should be used instead.

Executives at Daimler Truck said it would cut costs and capital spending while focusing on maintaining double-digit margins in North America. Daum said the truck maker will relentlessly aim for higher profits in Europe and Asia.

“We are absolutely determined to restore profitability,” said Daum. “We have to achieve this as a public enterprise.”

“It will start above all with fixing Europe,” he added. “Europe is our biggest challenge.”

By 2025, Daimler Truck is targeting margins above 10% under favorable market conditions and between 6% and 7% under poor conditions, executives said.

Daimler Truck also plans to cut personnel costs by 300 million euros ($ 366 million) by 2022.

The company said it is stepping up its partnership with Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) (300750.SZ), choosing the Chinese battery maker as the supplier of its long-haul Mercedes-Benz eActros electric truck.

It has also reached an agreement with Shell (RDSa.L) under which the energy company will launch from 2024 hydrogen refueling stations between the green hydrogen production centers in Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Cologne and Hamburg in Germany.

Shell has come under pressure from shareholders to step up its efforts to tackle climate change. Read more

Daimler Truck and Volvo AB (VOLVb.ST) said last month that they jointly aim to cut hydrogen fuel costs by a factor of five or six by 2027, as they seek to make the technology commercially viable for long-haul trucking. Read more

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