This follows the recent announcement by Daimler AG of the separation into two independent companies. This milestone represents the start of a reshaping of DTBSA, and with a truck and bus dedicated and customer-centric corporate structure going forward.

Michael Dietz, President and CEO of Daimler Trucks & Buses Southern Africa, says this is a massive turning point for DTBSA and a huge investment for the Southern Africa market.

“We have done some ground-breaking changes previously, like the establishment of DTBSA as a legal entity in 2019 and more recently the founding of our very own captive financial mobility services, Daimler Trucks Financial Services (DTFS).

“I firmly believe that the new set-up promotes the necessary focus into our core business, creating favourable conditions for us to be more competitive, and it accelerates the development of key technologies for us to provide cutting-edge products and services to fulfil the special needs of our customers.

“It is without a doubt that this independence is fully aligned with our growth strategy and further strengthens our foothold within the markets we operate in. As we gear up to a smooth transition, our commitment for all who keep Africa moving remains unchanged,” he says.

In totality, a significant investment of up to R1 billion has been made available to ensure continuity in operation, adequate resources and suitable working infrastructure for the DTBSA business.

This new set-up will comprise of the Sales and Marketing, Customer Service & Parts (CSP), Own Retail, Manufacturing Plant, Value-added services that include: TruckStore, FleetBoard, Mercedes-Benz Uptime, Service24h, TruckParts, and FUSO Value Parts (FVP).

In addition to this, for the first time as part of the new structure, DTBSA will have a dedicated captive financial and mobility service – Daimler Truck Financial Services South Africa (DTFS). As a wholly owned subsidiary of DTBSA, DTFS will play a fundamental role in driving sales with tailor-made financing, leasing and mobility solutions, increasing retention and building customer loyalty, which enables a commercial vehicle dedicated and customer-centric support to the market.

Furthermore, the DTBSA production plant in East London will continue to operate from the main location with clear and seamless integration of Mercedes-Benz and FUSO brands and will have the same level of access to the key production areas, including harbour depots/storage centres, testing ground and the Training Academy.