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Formula One / 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix - Saturday
« Last post by fasteddy on July 26, 2023, 10:23:31 AM »
Lewis Hamilton

Pole position is an amazing feeling! I feel so grateful because the Team have worked so hard. We've been pushing so much over this time so to finally get pole position is great; it feels just like the first time. I didn't expect that we’d be fighting for P1 coming here today. When I started my final lap, I gave it absolutely everything. There was nothing left in it.

There’s been plenty of ups and downs over the past 18 months. It's been a roller-coaster ride, but none of us have lost faith. We've all just hauled together and stayed united. We're focusing on trying to steer the car in the right direction. It has been tough, and will continue to be so at times, but I think this shows that we're on the right track and we can do it if we keep pushing. I have to try and sleep tonight now! Tomorrow, we’ll bring our A-game as a Team. It's going to be difficult to fight Max and Lando but let’s see what we can do.
George Russell

Today we were fast, and the car felt great. Unfortunately, we were out of sync with everybody else for the whole session. We have a great Team around us but the whole session just wasn’t good enough for our standards. There was a lot of traffic at the end of the final sector, and the lap was gone when I was three tenths down by turn one. The Hard tyre works well here, especially with the high temperatures, but we were just on track at the wrong time.

It’s disappointing as the car was more than quick enough to get through. When you don’t get things right you get punished and we’ve been punished for sure today. Lewis did an amazing job though so congratulations to him. Tomorrow will be extremely hard, but we’ll be fighting and I’m going to try to come back through. Even though it’s a tough track to overtake, I’ll do my best tomorrow.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

We had a package today that was competitive. That’s something we can be really proud of. Lewis drove an amazing lap and put it on pole. If you give him a car, that’s what he can do. We made some good decisions with the set-up overnight and the drivers moved it in the right direction in FP3. The car we had today gave them confidence and allowed them to push. 

We made a mistake with George. We should have put him in a much better position on track and we’ve apologised to him for that. There’s a gentleman’s agreement that you don’t overtake one another as time is running out. He had a number of cars move ahead of him though and that obviously screwed up his last lap.

We will be fighting tomorrow, and we know it will be tough. The long run pace of others looked strong but form in the race sometimes looks a little different to practice. We will be giving it everything we’ve got and see what our car is capable of. 
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

It’s great to get pole with Lewis; he had a really strong session. A lot of hard work has gone into improving the car over recent races and it’s a sign that we’re moving in a good direction.  On the other hand, we let George down with how we handled his session. It wasn’t good enough and we’ll review and see how we can improve. It’s obviously very disappointing when we see the promise of the car and that he didn’t get the opportunity to get a clean run in. We’ll see what we can do tomorrow.

Both drivers will be in for a tough race. Max looks to have been struggling more than normal for single lap pace, but his long run was very strong, as was Lando’s. George has a lot of cars between him and the points. We will need to look to offset on strategy to put him in a position where we can start making progress. It’s going to be hot and if we are looking after the tyres well that will bring opportunity. With Lewis we’ll be hoping for a good start and then see what we can do from there.
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Formula One / 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix - Friday
« Last post by fasteddy on July 26, 2023, 10:21:20 AM »
Lewis Hamilton

We only used one set of the dry compound tyres today. With the ‘Alternative Tyre Allocation’ format we get less running, which is not ideal from a driver’s perspective. We will have more flexibility in terms of what tyres we run in FP3 tomorrow though.

The car wasn’t feeling great today, but we will be working on the set-up overnight and hopefully make some improvements for tomorrow. We typically start off lacking a little pace. Through the work we do and changes we make, we typically tend to find some more speed as we progress into the weekend. I’m hopeful that tomorrow the car will feel better.
George Russell

We were on a very different programme to everyone else today, only using one set of the Medium compound tyre throughout. For FP2, that meant we were running a used Medium tyre, so the lap times don’t give a true representation of our pace. I’m sure tomorrow we will be better. We’re just focused on trying to improve and we know we tend to improve as the weekend progress, which is the right way around.

We learned a few interesting things even in that one dry session. We’re struggling with a bit of overall grip and the tyres didn’t feel like they were in the right window on both low fuel and high fuel. We need to understand why that was, but these are difficult things to assess during a session. We will work on that overnight; it wasn’t our best day for sure but that’s not the first time we’ve said that this year. Saturday and Sunday tend to be better so I’m looking forward to the weekend.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

FP1 was not a great deal of use due to the timing of the red flag and then the arrival of the rain. We carried a lightly used set of Medium tyres into the second session; we did some work on lower fuel levels but focused more on the long run. Most teams took a second set of tyres today, something we chose not to do. That’s the main reason we don’t feature higher up on the time sheets. The benefit will come in the learning for qualifying, where we have two new sets in FP3.

There’s plenty of work to do with the car balance on both the single lap and long run, which is useful as the field is looking very tight. We also have the challenge of different compounds in each segment of qualifying, meaning the out laps need to be adjusted continuously. We will review all the data tonight and see what we can do tomorrow.
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All other Daimler AG discussion / Hilgen-Reisen celebrates 100th anniversary
« Last post by fasteddy on July 21, 2023, 02:33:30 PM »

Jul 20, 2023
Leinfelden-Echterdingen / Friedrichsfehn

Bus and touring coach travel company Emil Hilgen from Friedrichsfehn in Ammerland, Lower Saxony, has decided to celebrate the company's 100th anniversary with a very special gift: a fully equipped Setra TopClass S 516 HDH.

It's the first Setra in the fleet bearing the brand's new family face. Following an extensive facelift, next-generation Setra touring coaches feature three-dimensional, chrome brand lettering on a glossy, black background.

In terms of technology, the latest Setra is also a true premium vehicle for Hilgen, evident from elements including adaptive cruise control (ART) with Active Brake Assist 5 (ABA 5): the system relieves drivers by automatically maintaining a constant distance to the vehicle ahead as defined by the driver on the basis of permanent measurements. ABA 5 additionally supports drivers in the event of an imminent collision with stationary objects, moving objects and moving pedestrians.

Today, 40 buses and touring coaches with the striking green Hilgen lettering are in operation for the company. Many of these vehicles – from club vehicles to double-deckers – are Setra and Mercedes-Benz vehicles, given this has been the company's first choice for decades. "The versatile Setra premium touring coach fully meets the high standards of our passengers. Unique all-round visibility, generous interior standing height and the coherently coordinated interior design represent comfort and driving pleasure par excellence," Wolfgang Hilgen explains.

Established on 29 June 1923 by Anna and Emil Hilgen for the transport of sand for local road construction, dairy products and deliveries of all kinds as a haulage company operating with horse-drawn carriages, the Friedrichsfehn-based company soon upgraded the fleet with a truck a few years later. A touring coach trailer soon followed to be able to transport peat workers throughout the region. The first bus was purchased in 1948, and today the company is considered a reliable service provider for local public transport within the districts of Ammerland and Oldenburg. Setra and Mercedes-Benz touring coaches provide the first-class travel experience in coach hire that Hilgen is known for throughout the region.

As a family-owned company, the company has always been handed over to the next generation – in 1980, the business was passed on to the son of the company's founder. Wolfgang Hilgen has been managing the company for 20 years, which was converted to a GmbH & Co KG (business entity with limited liability, common in Germany) in 2017. Together with his brothers Karl-Heinz and Thomas, his son Frederick is already the fourth generation working at the company.

Sideguard Assist is also on board the anniversary touring coach, a three-axle vehicle used on tours throughout Europe. This is a safety assistance system that supports drivers in critical turning situations with potentially restricted visibility. In addition, Active Drive Assist 2 applies continuous steering interventions to keep the vehicle in a target position within the lane.

The S 516 HDH is equipped with 48 seats and a galley kitchen with a fully automatic coffeemaker. The vehicle is deployed in coach hire throughout Europe. The new 360° camera system offers perfect all-round visibility when manoeuvring and in tight spaces. Four cameras at the front, rear and above the side windows record the vehicle surroundings and generate an indirect all-round view from a bird’s-eye perspective.

Comfort features on board also include a high-quality entertainment system with DAB+ digital radio, Bluetooth audio streaming and the option to pair smartphones. Furthermore, an HDMI interface makes it possible to connect a laptop to display travel information during a study trip, for example.
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Formula One / 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix - Preview
« Last post by fasteddy on July 19, 2023, 03:04:04 PM »
Toto Talks Hungary

We head to Hungary looking forward to tackling the double-header before the summer shutdown. It has been an up-and-down first half of the year, but we can take several positives.

At Silverstone, we outscored our closest competitors. We executed well on race day. We were able to race to the podium and extend our P2 advantage in the championship. However, the order is fluctuating almost every weekend. We need to keep adding performance if we are to close the gap to the front and fight for victories.

Several teams have made big gains recently. This has brought some into the fight with us, especially McLaren. It has been impressive and gives us encouragement that we can also continue to find gains. We relish that challenge and will bring our own steps in due course.

The Hungaroring is a circuit that is quite different in nature to Silverstone. It will be interesting to explore how our latest upgrades perform in the long-radius, slow-speed corners. We have good memories from Hungary last year, with George’s first pole position in F1 and a double podium for the Team. This race also marks a decade since Lewis’ first win with us, so it’s a circuit full of good memories.

Hopefully we can have another strong showing this time out. We want to build on the positive momentum from Silverstone and take the fight to our rivals.
Fact File: Hungarian Grand Prix

    This weekend sees the first ‘Alternative Tyre Allocation’ weekend trial, which you can read more about here.
    The Hungarian Grand Prix weekend tends to be one of the hottest of the year, with an average air temperature of 25°C and a maximum of 33°C.
    Correspondingly, track temperatures tend to also be high with an average of 36°C rising to a maximum of just over 50°C.
    The amount of braking activity, with six events across the lap, coupled with the high ambient temperatures and the absence of long straights make the circuit exceptionally taxing on the brakes.
    The low average speed at the Hungaroring also limits airflow, which makes it even more of a challenge to cool the brakes.
    The circuit features 14 corners, six to the left and eight to the right. Many of these follow one after another in quick succession, meaning a well-balanced car that can handle directional changes is important for lap time.
    The Hungaroring has one of the lowest top speeds of the season at just over 310 km/h. That is perhaps no surprise given the cars spend just over 10 seconds on a straight over the course of a fast lap, with the remaining time spent cornering.
    Those track characteristics are also reflected in the full throttle percentage, which is just 60% and one of the lowest figures we see across the year.
    Despite a relatively short start/finish straight, the distance from pole position to the braking zone for Turn 1 measures 444 metres, on the longer side compared to other venues we visit.
    Given the prevalence of slower corners, good traction is important here. That is why this circuit puts the rear tyres under a lot of stress.
    Last year saw George take his maiden F1 pole position, his lap time of 1:17.377 putting him on pole position for the 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix. The Team followed that up with a double podium in the race with Lewis taking second, with George third.
    Lewis is the most successful driver in Hungarian Grand Prix history with a tally of eight victories. Next on the list is Michael Schumacher with four wins to his name.
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Formula One / 2023 British Grand Prix - Sunday
« Last post by fasteddy on July 19, 2023, 03:02:05 PM »
Lewis Hamilton

The Safety Car came at a beneficial moment for us but ultimately, that was the plan starting on the Medium tyre. We wanted to go long, and we did; it came at the right time, and we made some gains. For us to get on the podium is huge. It’s been an up-and-down season and we’ve still got a lot of work to do with our car. We’ve got strengths with it, particularly our long run. George had a great stint on the Soft tyre and mine on the Medium was really good too. As soon as we can improve the rear end we will be on our way. We just need to hold on to the good bits and add a few others.

Finally, the support from the fans has been incredible and it gets better each and every year. I don’t know how that is possible as it’s the pinnacle! The energy that everyone brings is phenomenal. Once again, Silverstone put on an amazing show.
George Russell

We wanted to be aggressive today and we had the chance to split the strategies. The Soft tyre felt really strong in that first stint but unfortunately, it was very difficult to overtake Leclerc. There was some questionable defending at points but in the end, I managed to get past. Having stopped for the Medium tyre, it was unfortunate timing with the Safety Car. Sometimes it goes for you, sometimes against you. Ultimately though, we only lost one position and without it, I still wouldn’t have ended up on the podium. It didn’t change a huge amount for my race, and we can take the positives that for the Team, it is good points in the Constructors’ Championship.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

We’ve performed well today compared to in Qualifying. We’ve gained some points on our closest competitors in the Constructors’ Championship, so we can say it’s a solid day. P3 and P5 is OK, but no more than solid. I see the positives from this weekend though. Whilst podiums are good, it’s more important to see that the car has potential, and our eyes are on closing the gap to the very front.

We wanted to have an offset between the two cars today and the Soft tyre provided a good getaway from the line. It also looked quite resilient on Friday, and it proved even more so today. We were surprised to see how long it went. After the restart, Lewis’ tyres went off and the McLarens were able to hold us behind. Their resurgence is good to see. If you make the right decisions, you can clearly make a large step. It is good for the sport that if you do the right things then you can move forward. Today, they had a better car, and you could see particularly in the closing stages on the Hard tyre just how strong they were.
Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

It was great to get a car on the podium today. We needed the Safety Car to make that, but we were in the right position with one car to take advantage of it. Overall, it’s been a solid day for the team and drivers. We’ve managed to out-score both Ferrari and Aston Martin, which is good for the Constructors’ Championship. McLaren have shown that they are podium contenders; they were the second quickest team this weekend, which is impressive when you consider where they were earlier in the season.

We’ve got a good platform to build on. We know the areas that we need to improve, but the field is so tight. Where we are racing, a couple of tenths can be the difference between a podium and the back end of the points. We know we need to continuing improving and everyone in Brackley and Brixworth is working hard to do just that.
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The successful programme “City Culture at the Mercedes-Benz Museum” is back: from 13 July to 13 August, cultural practitioners from Stuttgart and the region will present their programmes on the open-air stage for the third time since the premiere in 2021. The Museum acts as the tried and tested host for the cultural programme across various genres and themes and provides the open-air stage as a unique summer location.

This summer, the programme again offers a colourful mix from theatre to poetry slam, and from club evenings with hip-hop and electronic music to classical sounds and cabaret. The Mercedes-Benz Museum is also hosting a concert: on 9 August, the German-Australian duo Amistat will be playing, with Hollie Col and Dane Drewis as support.

The current event overview is available on the website www.mercedes-benz.com/stadtkultur. There is also a link to the ticketing system of the respective organisers for each entry.

Current programme and tickets (subject to change)

    13 July 2023, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Klaus Birk and Andreas Müller: “HomeLandZack! A Badener and a Swabian perform.” Cabaret and articulate comedy all about this very special relationship in the state (in German).
    14 July 2023, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.: “Good Live Comedy Jam”. Stand-up comedy with Mariano Vivenzio and Serdar Karibik, among others (in German). Moderated by Immo.Tommy and musically supported by DJ Cusher.
    15 July 2023, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.: “Old School Vibes”. The “Old School Hip-Hop & R-’n’-B-Party” will feature artists Aik-One (Cologne), Uncle Change (Osnabrück), Chico G (Hamburg) and Bless (Cologne).
    16 July 2023, 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.: “Children for Children – Our Voice Counts!” A benefit event with a colourful programme by children, pupils from the age of four to the high school graduating class, for the Verein der Palliativ-Care-Teams im Kreis Böblingen e. V. (an association of palliative care teams in the District of Böblingen) for the benefit of critically ill children.
    16 July 2023, 6 p.m. to 9.30 p.m.: “Kopfkino – Open Air Vol. 9”. The evening promises a perfect mix of poetry, comedy and live music with newcomers, renowned artists and local heroes as well as host Khalid Bounouar (in German).
    20 July 2023, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.: “Summer Night Concert”. The University Orchestra, PEP Band and SING_UNI of the Esslingen University of Applied Sciences offer an evening of film music from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to Disney classics.
    21 July 2023, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.: “Best of Poetry Slam”. A summit meeting of the German-speaking poetry slam scene, including German-speaking poetry slam champion Florian Wintels (Osnabrück) and German-speaking U20 (under 20) champion Paulina Behrendt (Hamburg).
    22 July 2023, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.: “Vibrancy Open Air”. The techno event with stars of the scene features Djane Magit Cacoon and Marino Canal, among others. The regional newcomer Snc. is already known from stages in southern Germany.
    23 July 2023, 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.: Dominik Eulberg: “Open Air Biodiversity Show”. With his stage concept, DJ and conservationist Dominik Eulberg builds bridges between music and knowledge transfer to raise awareness of the beauty and diversity of nature.
    27 July 2023, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.: “Major League DJz”. Guest performance by the successful South African DJ duo, who thrill audiences from Bali to Coachella to London.
    28 July 2023, 8 p.m. to 10 p.m.: “Best of Erotic Slam”. The seductive word games on the open-air stage form a “best of” edition of the successful Stuttgart erotic slam (in German).
    29 July 2023, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Techno Open Air of the Stuttgart label NewKids Records with Anxhela, Tham, Mad Maex, Source Code.
    30 July 2023, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.: “Comedy 72 – Open Air”. The evening with well-known stand-up comedians and comedy newcomers from all over Germany offers a varied programme (in German), hosted by Andi Mohr.
    3 August 2023, 7.30 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Stuttgart Comedy Clash Open Air. Seven top-class comedians from all over Germany compete for the favour of the audience (in German). Salim Samatou and Marvin Endres will be hosting.
    5 and 6 August 2023, 8.30 p.m. to 10 p.m. each day: “Candlelight Open Air at the Mercedes-Benz Museum: Rock Classics”. A classical sextet led by Stuttgart violinist Petra-Manon Hirzel plays great rock classics outdoors by soft candlelight.
    9 August 2023, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Amistat: “Colour in Life Tour”. The duo will be guests at the Mercedes-Benz Museum with their programme, which will be released in March 2023. The German-Australian musicians are accompanied by Australian singer and songwriter Hollie Col and musical multi-talent Dane Drewis.
    12 August 2023, 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Hip-hop concert with the band Genetikk.
    13 August 2023, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.: Saturdays, Malevo & Bagatelle present SUMMER OPEN AIR. Hip Hop, Afrobeats, Urban Sounds and 90ies by Korex, Namaste, Capryy & AKZ.
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Mercedes-Benz Vans consistently focuses on profitable growth and pursues its goal of offering the most desirable vans and services. In the second quarter of 2023, Mercedes-Benz Vans sold 119,500 vans with the three-pointed star worldwide and increased sales by 19% in Q2 – and by 16% in the first half of the year. With this, the division has achieved its best second quarter ever, as well as its best half-year ever.

Mercedes-Benz Vans continues to cater to the needs of both private and commercial customers. The segment of the premium positioned commercial vans made a particularly strong contribution from April to June, with an increase of 23% to 101,600 units. The privately positioned vans saw a sales figure of 18,000 units, an increase of 4%. The share of electric vans rose by 18% to 5,100 vehicles. This once again underscores the division’s claim of leading in electric mobility.

Mercedes-Benz Vans is furthermore strengthening its position in relevant markets and industries. Sales of Mercedes-Benz Vans increased across all strategic markets in Q2: the main sales drivers remain the regions Europe, with group sales up by 24% to 74,000 private and commercial vans, and Asia, with group sales up by 22% to 12,100 private and commercial vans in total. The U.S. achieved the best second sales quarter ever (+5% to 20,300 units). Germany, the division’s largest and home market, recorded sales growth of 25% to 30,600 units.
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Boston (USA) / Leinfelden-Echterdingen (Germany) – After its first full year as an independent listed company, Daimler Truck Holding AG (Daimler Truck) hosts its Capital Market Day 2023 in Boston (Massachusetts, USA). The main topics are the guidance increase for 2023, the confirmation of 2025 ambitions, an enhanced capital allocation policy, and the path towards 2030, transforming the Company for sustainable growth.

"Daimler Truck is doing very well. We are increasing our guidance for 2023. We are firmly on track to deliver on our 2025 ambitions. And we are ready to take Daimler Truck to the next level by 2030 – aiming for above 12% adjusted return on sales for the Industrial Business in sunny conditions. We are initiating a share buyback program of up to two billion euros over a period of up to two years to make sure our shareholders fully benefit from our successful development. Our flexible technology strategy enables us not only to navigate the historic transformation of our industry, but to capture all opportunities associated with it. In short: Daimler Truck is transforming for sustainable growth – to the benefit of our employees, our customers and our shareholders,” says Martin Daum, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck.

Strong momentum and increase of guidance for 2023 to 8.5-10% adjusted ROS

After a strong first quarter in 2023 and an increase in unit sales in Q2, Daimler Truck continues to see a positive momentum for the remaining financial year. In the second quarter of 2023, worldwide unit sales of the Group increased by 9.0% versus the prior year quarter, selling in total 131,888 units (Q2/22: 120,961). All segments contributed positively to this year-over-year increase: Trucks North America +14.7% with 50,618 units (Q2/22: 44,124), Mercedes-Benz +1.1% with 39,236 units (Q2/22: 38,812), Trucks Asia +9.2% with 40,097 units (Q2/22: 36,704) and Daimler Buses +21.8% with 6,181 units (Q2/22: 5,075).

These developments result in an increased Group revenue guidance between €56 billion and €58 billion (previously: €55 billion – €57 billion).

The adjusted ROS guidance for the Industrial Business for the financial year 2023 increases to a range of 8.5-10% (previously: 7.5-9%). The Group also raises its outlook for each industrial segment. The adjusted ROS guidance for Trucks North America is lifted to the range of 11-13% (previously: 10-12%). For Mercedes-Benz, the Group now expects an adjusted ROS between 8-10% (previously: 7-9%). Trucks Asia is now expected to reach an adjusted ROS between 4-6% (previously: 3-5%). For Daimler Buses the adjusted ROS target corridor is raised to between 3-5% (previously: 2-4%). The main drivers are stronger core markets accompanied by an improving supply chain situation, robust pricing and a strong development of the services business.

The guidance for the Group’s investment and R&D costs is lifted to “slight increase” (previously “on prior-year level”), however, free cash flow for the Industrial Business is now expected to “increase significantly” (previously: “slight increase”), proving again Daimler Truck’s high cash conversion.

On track to deliver on 2025 ambition of above 10% adjusted ROS

Next to a positive start into the financial year 2023, the Group continues to stay focused on self-help measures, notably the reduction of fixed costs and capital spent as well as the increase of service revenues. By this, Daimler Truck has already improved its resilience and aims to further reduce the impact of cyclical downturns on future results. Overall, Daimler Truck is on track to achieve the above 10% adjusted return on sales ambition by 2025 for the Industrial Business in favorable conditions.

Given the excellent operating business development and strong cash flow generation, Daimler Truck also updated its capital allocation policy to reduce the impact of industrial cycles on dividend payments. To maintain a more stable dividend level even in tougher market environments, the future dividend payout range will amount to 40-60%. In addition, Daimler Truck announced to initiate a share buyback program with a value of up to €2 billion over approximately up to 24 months, expected to start after the Q2 disclosure (August 1st).

Leverage financial strength for 2030 ambition of above 12% adjusted ROS

“Looking beyond 2025, we see multiple growth opportunities in our industry and we are fully equipped to exploit these opportunities. This should translate into a 40-60% increase in revenues between 2025 and 2030 and an above 12% adjusted return on sales for the Industrial Business in sunny conditions. At the same time, we will be relentlessly focused on cost discipline and smart capital allocation,” says Jochen Goetz, Member of the Board of Management and CFO of Daimler Truck.

The main drivers for leveraging Daimler Truck’s financial strength towards 2030 are stringent allocation of capital through our return on capital steering model and the associated active portfolio management, service revenue growth, autonomous driving and zero emission vehicles (ZEV).

Active portfolio management and the stronger focus on return on capital steering approach support Daimler Truck to pivot towards the high-margin heavy-duty segment. The recently announced Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of the intended merger of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (FUSO) and Hino Motors is a prime example of the active portfolio management strategy. Service revenue growth is expected to be driven by parts & services, ZEV ecosystems and digital solutions. Daimler Truck will also make use of the expected highly scalable and highly profitable market opportunity of autonomous driving, expecting to generate over €3 billion revenues and over €1 billion of EBIT with autonomous driving in 2030. ZEV products are expected to have a higher revenue per unit and to be still favorable from a total cost of ownership perspective for customers. That is obviously highly dependent on energy prices and varies from segment to segment and region to region.

Fundamental to Daimler Truck’s financial ambitions is a technology strategy that focuses on highly differentiating products and scalable technologies which are developed once and deployed multiple times.

Technology Strategy: Creating value for customers and scale for Daimler Truck

Daimler Truck sets itself the clear ambition to lead the transformation towards sustainable transportation. Therefore, the company’s focus lies on two technology fields that provide the highest differentiation for customers and the largest economies of scale. Power to drive, comprising the propulsion system, and intelligence to drive, focusing on electronics and software.

For power to drive, Daimler Truck aims to continuously offer best total cost of ownership for its customers regardless of the energy source, be it diesel, battery or hydrogen. For intelligence to drive, Daimler Truck aims to differentiate with software features, which are rolled out rapidly, with high quality and tailor-made for customer use cases. Both technology fields are designed as global platforms with the goal of maximum commonality to scale them across the company’s portfolio – across all brands and regions. The platforms also allow to leverage on scales even beyond Daimler Truck.

„Technology plays a key role at Daimler Truck, as it is a crucial lever to increase shareholder value by creating both value for our customers and scale for us. This has always been essential, and even more so in times of transformation,” says Andreas Gorbach, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck, responsible for Truck Technology.

Decarbonizing with battery and hydrogen based solutions

The speed of decarbonization in trucking is highly driven by the availability of infrastructure and competitive cost of green energy. Thus, the transformation requires a transition phase in which the diesel engine still plays a central role. In the case of medium-duty engines, Daimler Truck is concentrating on a non-captive procurement approach of such units in view of the declining volume of diesel-powered vehicles. Though in the case of the own platform for heavy-duty engines, the Group wants to remain competitive through further scaling, even beyond Daimler Truck.

For a zero-emission future, the company is convinced that only the combination of battery-electric and hydrogen-powered propulsion systems will enable the customers to solve their transportation tasks sustainably and economically.

When it comes to battery technology, Daimler Truck is using a fast-to-market approach and already has a broad vehicle offering, followed by a dedicated, purpose-built truck platform for high-volume production as battery-electric vehicle (BEV) penetration increases. For hydrogen, Daimler Truck is aiming to enter series production of first fuel cell powered vehicles within the second half of this decade, powered by the aggregates from cellcentric, its joint venture with the Volvo Group. As a potential complementary low-carbon technology for specific customer use cases with e.g. high power demand, Daimler Truck is considering the hydrogen combustion engine. If the corresponding regulatory framework conditions are set, the Company can build upon existing diesel engine platforms and provide this technology quickly.

Differentiation through digitalization

Starting already in 2024, Daimler Truck plans to roll out numerous next level software features such as further improved active safety functionalities, next level connectivity for fleet owner data access, predictive maintenance, and advanced over-the-air-updates. All these features are enabled by a more powerful computer architecture. In a next step, Daimler Truck targets to further decouple software and hardware development cycles, enabling product and business improvements that can be developed in fast agile cycles, by Daimler Truck or third parties, and deployed over-the-air.

Daimler Truck’s technology-openness enables to create value for all customer use cases. Stringent commonality, portfolio optimization and partnerships create the scale for profitability.
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Daimler Business / Mercedes-Benz Q2 sales: Strong EV and Top-End segment growth
« Last post by fasteddy on July 11, 2023, 04:28:48 PM »
Demand for battery electric (BEV) and Top-End segment vehicles lifted sales of Mercedes-Benz Cars by 6%, to 515,700 units in the second quarter, and by 5% to 1,019,200 units in the first half of 2023. Sales were boosted by solid demand in Germany and the United States in particular. Mercedes-Benz continues to remain disciplined, even in a dynamic market environment.

Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars battery electric vehicle sales rose to 56,300 units in Q2, a 123% increase compared with the prior-year quarter, underscoring the priority of scaling EV’s. This increase was mainly driven by the demand for the EQA (+73%) and EQB (+83%) and the EQE Sedan (+157%). In the first six months of 2023, Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars sold 102,600 BEV’s worldwide (+121%). Fully electric vehicles now account for 11% of overall sales year-to-date. Including plug-in hybrids Mercedes-Benz sold 187,600 electrified vehicles (+36%), corresponding to a global xEV-share of 18% at the end of June. The U.S. market continued its transformation towards electric cars with a rise in the share of Mercedes-Benz battery electric vehicles to 16% at the end of June, compared to 3% in the first half of last year. Mercedes-Benz announced last week that customers in North America will gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network, another step towards accelerating the shift to electric vehicles.

„With our focus on sustainable growth we posted higher sales across all main regions and segments - especially for our electric and Top-End vehicles. Our pipeline of desirable products remains fresh, for example with the introduction of the new E-Class and CLE. The transformation of our sales network continues with the successful introduction of the direct sales model in Germany and Turkey in Q2, following the UK earlier this year.”
Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing and Sales
Top-End

Sales in the Top-End segment rose by 12% to 84,800 units in Q2 and 15% to 176,600 vehicles in the first six months of 2023. Mercedes-AMG increased global sales by 19% to 38,000 units in the second quarter, supported by a strong SUV segment and launches of the AMG derivatives of the C-Class and SL. Demand for the iconic G-Class remains high and sales increased by 29% to 11,000 units in the second quarter. In April 2023, the 500,000th model of the legendary Mercedes‑Benz G-Class rolled off the production line in Graz. Mercedes-Maybach lifted global sales by 39% to 6,500 vehicles in Q2 and was able to further expand its customer base, especially in the U.S. market. The brand will further upgrade its series models with an optional Night Series package. The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV has been introduced in all key regions, with 10,900 units sold in the first half of 2023.
Core

Sales in the Core segment were up 2% to 276,600 units in the second quarter. Sales of the E-Class increased by 11% in Q2 to 73,000 units and reached 146,300 units (+2%) in the first six months. Sales of the EQE Sedan more than doubled to 9,000 units (+157%) and sales of its SUV sibling, the EQE SUV reached 10,000 units in Q2. In the second half of the year, the global ramp up of the new GLC, E-Class and CLE models will continue.
Entry

Sales in the Entry segment increased by 11% to 154,100 units in Q2 and even grew 19% in the first half of 2023, reaching 317,500 vehicles. The recently upgraded CLA saw sales rise 31% to 21,700 units in Q2. First-half sales of compact SUVs GLA and GLB reached 65,100 units (+19%) and 74,700 units (+23%) respectively. Together with its electric versions EQA (+69%) and EQB (+125%), the compact SUVs accounted for more than half of sales in this segment in the January to June period. Mercedes-Benz Passenger Car BEV-share rose to 15% in this segment in the first half of 2023 compared to 9% a year-earlier.
Sales by regions and markets

Sales of Mercedes-Benz Cars increased across all main regions in the second quarter and the first half of 2023.

In Europe sales were up 5% to 157,100 units in Q2 and reached 321,000 units (+7%) in the first half of the year. The growth in the first six months was supported by strong sales in the Top-End segment (+28%) and fully electric Mercedes-Benz passenger Cars (+62%), boosted by the EQE Sedan with 7,000 units (+129%). The BEV-share in Europe increased to 18% year-to-date compared to 14% in the same period last year. Second-quarter sales in Germany (+23%) were strong in all segments; from Entry (+28%), Core (+19%) to the Top-End (+26%). Battery electric vehicle sales increased to 20,000 units (+31%) in the first half, reaching a share of 17% of overall Mercedes-Benz Cars sales in the German market. In Belgium, sales increased to 9,000 units (+15%) in the second quarter mainly due to a surge of battery electric vehicles (+186%).

In Asia sales increased 10% to 239,200 units in the second quarter, and to 486,900 units (+7%) in the first half. In China Q2 sales grew by 12% driven by the E-Class (+43%) and the GLB (+77%). Japan saw sales rising to 12,800 units (+16%) in Q2, mainly due to a strong Top-End segment (+49%) and BEV sales (+734%) after the market introduction of EQB, EQE and EQS. In South Korea, sales increased by 5% in the second quarter to 22,300 units, with a rise of Top-End vehicles to 8,400 units (+28%), representing 38% of overall Mercedes-Benz Cars sales in the market. Sales in India grew by 8% and reached a new record with 3,800 units in Q2, driven by strong sales of GLE (+138%) and GLS (+51%). Top-End sales in India increased by 54%, reaching 2,000 units in the first half of the year.

In North America sales reached 98,800 units (+3%) in Q2 and 173,900 units (+2%) in the first six months. Sales in the U.S. grew by 6% to 88,100 units in Q2 thanks to a surge in BEV sales (+697%) and Top-End vehicles (+43%). Battery electric vehicle sales in the U.S. reached 23,800 units (+505%) in the first six months thanks in part to the availability of the new EQS SUV variant. Sales of the Top-End segment reached 55,800 units (+35%) in the first half of 2023, driven by Mercedes-AMG (+65%), Mercedes-Maybach (+333%) and G-Class (+110%).

Year-to-date sales in the rest of world category (-18%), are below prior-year, due to Mercedes-Benz's decision to stop its business activities in Russia from March 2022 onwards. In the second quarter sales were impacted by seasonal effects. In Turkey sales increased by 21% to 6,100 units in Q2 after the introduction of the direct sales model.
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Formula One / 2023 British Grand Prix - Saturday
« Last post by fasteddy on July 11, 2023, 04:26:36 PM »
George Russell

It was an exciting session; I really enjoy these conditions. I’m always confident that I can do a good job and put the laps in when needed. It was stressful at times, but I felt comfortable with our pace in Q1 and Q2. My last lap in Q3 was strong, but it was frustrating to see how close we were to being a couple of positions further forward. I was a little bit disappointed not to achieve this but we’re in a decent place for tomorrow. The Team did a good job of improving the car overnight and I’m excited to see what we can do in the Grand Prix. We believe we have stronger race pace than on the single lap, so I’m confident that we can move forward.

Once again, the energy from the fans today has been amazing. You really feel the support from the stands and it’s incredible to see how they are backing the Team and us as drivers. It’s a special weekend and we can hopefully do a good job tomorrow and challenge for the podium.
Lewis Hamilton

We weren’t quite quick enough today unfortunately. The conditions were tricky out there but there was still an element of fun to it, as we tried to get on top of the tyres. There were some moments where it looked like we had the potential to challenge further forward, but then we fell back a little. We seem to struggle on the single lap more than we do on the race pace, so we will see what we can do tomorrow. If we can progress forward, then that would be amazing. Hopefully we can put some pressure on the cars ahead and get into a battle with them.
Toto Wolff, Team Principal & CEO

It was an interesting session today, with the gap between P2 and P7 only a few tenths. We were more competitive than we thought we might be in terms of lap time, and the gap to the front-row is small. That is not an excuse though and P6 and P7 are the positions we are in. The question for us now is how much pace differential you need in order to overtake. There are several cars ahead of us but we’re hopeful we can make some good progress.

Whilst it’s frustrating in one sense, it's also encouraging to see the lap time gains that others have found, including McLaren recently. It’s a good example of how you can add performance during the season. We’ve been able to do so ourselves and we’re focused on continuing to do that. This will help us compete on both Saturday and Sunday, and ultimately close the gap to the front.

Andrew Shovlin, Trackside Engineering Director

Qualifying wasn’t an easy session; there were a few bands of rain coming through that kept us on our toes. In those conditions, it’s easy to get a car knocked out along the way but we have both well in the top 10. It’s frustrating to be on the wrong side of a tight bunch today, but the gap to pole is a big improvement on Friday.

Our long run pace looked good yesterday, so we’re hoping to be able to push forward. We also haven’t made any changes to the car that should hurt that race pace. We’d prefer to be starting further up as it would certainly help our chances of getting on the podium, but there are still opportunities on strategy that will allow us to offset. Whether McLaren have the race pace to match their qualifying speed will influence the strategy significantly. It’s going to be an interesting Grand Prix as there could be plenty of cars in the battle for the podium.
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