Mercedes-Benz Group (formerly Daimler)

Performance indicators

2024: Lower sales in China. The country's share in the company's income is 36%

2023: Lag behind BYD and Tesla in EV sales

2021: Sales of 2.05 million vehicles

In 2021, Mercedes-Benz was able to sell 2.05 million cars worldwide, which allowed the company to take second place in the premium car segment. Read more here.

2020: Daimler AG capitalization for November

History

2024

Recall of millions of cars with defective airbags

On July 31, 2024, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration USA (NHTSA) announced that more than 50 million cars of different brands can be equipped with defective airbags, which in the event of a traffic accident can cause serious harm to the health of the driver and passengers or even provoke their death. Defective products were marketed by ARC Automotive and Delphi Automotive Systems. More here

Sale of 15% of KamAZ shares

The Daimler concern sold its 15% stake in KamAZ. This was announced in mid-April 2024 by the general director of the Russian company Sergei Kogogin. Read more here.

Decline in interest in electric cars and bet on ordinary cars

Mercedes-Benz Feb. 22, 2024, delayed by five years its electrification goal and assured investors that it would continue to improve its models with internal combustion engines over the next decade, becoming the latest automaker to note a weaker-than-expected appetite for electric vehicles.

2023

Refusal to leave China's market even if it attacks Taiwan

The Mercedes-Benz said in May 2023 that the company would not leave China even if Beijing invaded Taiwan.

Kuwait State Fund sells Mercedes shares for 1.4 billion euros amid collapse in demand for its cars

On March 28, 2023, information appeared that the Kuwait Sovereign Wealth Fund KIA (Kuwait Investment Authority) intends to sell almost a quarter of its shares in the German automotive company Mercedes-Benz Group AG. One of the reasons for this decision is the reduction in sales of group cars.

According to Bloomberg, Kuwait owns 6.84% of the securities of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, which makes it the third largest shareholder of this concern. Moreover, KIA - the oldest in the world and one of the largest sovereign wealth funds - has been the holder of Mercedes shares for almost 50 years.

As part of the deal, KIA plans to sell approximately 20 million securities at a price of €69.27 per share, which will bring a total of €1.385 billion. After the transaction, about 53 million more securities of Mercedes-Benz Group AG will remain at the disposal of the fund. At the same time, the share of KIA in the German concern will decrease to less than 5%.

The KIA Foundation informed the company of its decision and plans to remain a key shareholder in the automaker, the statement said.

Mercedes-Benz Group AG has taken a course towards strengthening its position in the most profitable segments, as a result of which the range of models in less expensive categories has decreased. This led to an increase in the average price of Mercedes cars by 43% since 2019. In addition, in 2021, the production of commercial vehicles, tractors, trucks and buses was separated into a separate structure of Daimler Truck Holding AG. This strategy, focusing on luxury cars, has increased profits. However, the concern was forced to reduce prices for electric flagship models in China due to high competition from local manufacturers. At the same time, in Europe and the United States, the Mercedes-Benz Group AG group faced difficulties due to the crisis and macroeconomic challenges.^[1]

KamAZ became the owner of a joint venture with Daimler

KamAZ became the sole owner of a joint venture with Daimler. This became known in mid-January 2023. Read more here.

2022: Name change to Mercedes-Benz Group

On February 1, 2022, Daimler was officially renamed the Mercedes-Benz Group. It comes after the German carmaker spun off its truck and bus division (Daimler Truck AG) in 2020. The automaker is set to focus on producing battery-powered models in all of its segments in 2022 to compete with Tesla.

The change is the latest in a string of structural reshuffles for the automaker, which began operations as Daimler-Benz AG in 1926. The Mercedes brand, named after the car entrepreneur's daughter, was officially adopted by Daimler AG in 1902.

The goal is certainly to unleash the value potential of the company. We have a real chance to increase the multiplier, "said CEO Ola Kellenius.

Investors may start looking at Mercedes as a type of Lucid Motors or Tesla and start giving it an EV (electric car) multiple, RBC Capital Markets European auto analyst Tom Narayan said.

But Lucid and Tesla could start with 100% EV. Mercedes needs to convert its existing ICE (internal combustion engine) business to EV. This may be a limitation of how far the multiplier can go in the near term.

Asked if automated driving is as important to Mercedes-Benz as it is to Tesla, whose CEO Elon Musk said he expects it to be Tesla's main source of profitability, Caellenius said:

I share the view that there will be more and more attractive use cases... this has significant business potential for us[2]

2021

Daimler sold its stake in Renault for 305 million euros

On November 10, 2021, the German automaker Daimler announced the sale of all its shares in the French concern Renault, eroding cross-ownership of shares, but added that its industrial cooperation remains unchanged.

The Pension Fund sold about 9.2 million common shares of Renault through an accelerated initial offering to institutional investors. According to the documents, this share is 3.1% of Renault's share capital and about 5% of voting rights. Renault shares closed 1.9% higher at €34.30, valuing Daimler's stake at $365 million, but block sales are usually discounted compared to regular trading. The stock offering marks the end of a cross-ownership that has tied Daimler to Renault and its partner, Japan's Nissan Motor, since 2011.

Daimler earlier moved its 3.1% stake in Renault-Nissan into retirement assets. Renault and Nissan sold a 1.5% stake in Daimler in early 2021 to help themselves overcome financial difficulties. As part of a three-way partnership, Daimler operates a plant in Mexico with Nissan, and partners with Renault on Kangoo and Citan cars. Daimler is exploring jointly developing at least one large van model with Renault. Recall that Daimler took the Nissan Navara model as the basis for the Mercedes-Benz X-Class pickup truck, and the Germans also equip their models with a compact 1.3 liter turbo engine, which is installed, including on Russian Renault Arkana, Kaptur and the new Duster.

Nissan previously sold its entire stake in Daimler for €1.15 billion, joining partner Renault, which sold its stake in March 2021 to generate funds for efforts to overcome the situation. Overall benefits were moderate due to collaborations, including working alongside Smart ForTwo and Renault Twingo small cars, but the collaborations resulted in some savings through shared projects. Since the arrest and fall of its longtime leader Carl Hosn in 2018, both Renault and Nissan have been trying to restore profitability and shift their own alliance into turmoil.^[3]

Purchase of electric motor manufacturer YASA

At the end of July 2021, Daimler acquired YASA, the creator of next-generation electric drive technology. Under the terms of the acquisition, YASA will act as a wholly owned subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz and will develop ultra-high performance electric motors. At the same time, YASA will retain its own brand, team, production facilities and will continue to supply previous customers with supercars. Read more here.

Mercedes-Benz agreed to pay Nokia for 4G technologies after threatening to ban the sale of cars

In early June 2021, Daimler AG Nokia and settled a dispute over licensing patents for wireless technology in, ending a cars lawsuit that threatened sales of machines Mercedes in. Germany The deal resolves all litigation between the companies, including Daimler's complaint against European Commission Nokia. The companies agreed not to disclose the terms of the pact in a joint statement. At the same time, it is known that the German automaker will pay the Finnish company for the use of its technologies in the field of 3G- and - 4G connection.

This agreement "confirms the quality of our patent portfolio, Nokia's research and development contribution to the connected vehicle industry, and the growth opportunities for our car licensing program," said Nokia Technologies President Jenny Lukander.

In 2020, Nokia and Daimler went to court in Germany because the Mercedes-Benz manufacturer rejected Nokia's demand to pay a lump sum for patents used in cars. Instead, Daimler wanted its suppliers to buy the technology from Nokia. Thus, the company would be able to reduce the fee for the use of Nokia intellectual property.

A German judge referred the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union to hear the matter. At that time, Nokia had won two judgments in German courts against Daimler, but although these injunctions officially allowed Nokia to ban the sale of cars using its technology, Daimler was able to prevent the enforcement of this decision by appealing and resolving the issue during its consideration.

We welcome the settlement - both economically and because our company is trying to avoid lengthy disputes, Daimler executives said.[4]

Renault sold its entire stake in Daimler for 1.14 billion euros

On March 12, 2021, Renault announced the sale of its entire stake in Daimler for 1.14 billion euros. That deal, through a fast-track bid collection, would not affect cooperation between the two automakers, Renault said. Read more here.

The creation of a new company for the production of trucks and buses

In early February 2021, Daimler management announced a decision to divide the concern into two independent companies - Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Truck. The move is expected to allow divisions to achieve greater market flexibility, and Daimler Truck will be able to attract additional investment to switch to clean appliances (electric and hydrogen trucks). Read more here.

2020

Partnership with Waymo to build unmanned trucks

At the end of October 2020, it became known about the cooperation of Waymo, a subsidiary of Google, and Daimler, in which the companies will develop unmanned trucks. Daimler intends to integrate Waymo's self-driving technology into its trucks, which is considered one of the most advanced in the world. The partners' first project will be the creation of a modified Freightliner Cascadia tractor. Read more here.

$1.5 billion fine for using software that underestimates harmful emissions from cars

On September 15, 2020, it became known about Daimler's decision to pay another $1.5 billion fine for using software in its cars that underestimates the amount of harmful emissions. The indicated amount will be transferred to the American authorities.

These regulators include the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the U.S. Department of Justice's Environmental and Natural Resources division, the California Attorney General's office, and U.S. Border Customs Enforcement.

In particular, the German auto giant will pay $875 million for violating the US clean air law. As noted in the EPA press release, this is the second largest fine in history for violating this law. In addition, Daimler will pay $700 million to resolve the "class action" of consumers.

Despite the settlement, Daimler denies any wrongdoing and does not take any responsibility to the U.S. and California. The plaintiffs, in turn, accuse Daimler of using special software that underestimates the emission of harmful substances.

EPA chief environmentalist Andrew Wheeler said the deal sends a "clear message" to automakers that the U.S. government is tightening standards for harmful emissions. Daimler did not disclose the questionable emissions control software to the authorities.

According to Daimler's statement, the company agreed to settle the claims "to avoid further costs in connection with the proceedings and focus on its core business."

At the same time, the company emphasized that the agreements reached will have a negative impact on the company's cash flow in the next 3 years, and the maximum consequences will fall on the next 12 months.^[5]

Court bans Daimler from using Nokia mobile technology without a license

In August 2020, the court of the German city of Mannheim ruled that Daimler Corporation illegally used Nokia mobile technologies in its cars, and issued an injunction.

"The court confirmed Nokia that it acted fairly in licensing its patents to basic cellular standards, and that Daimler uses Nokia technology without permission," Nokia said in a statement.

"Today's decision is a serious confirmation of many years of engineering work of innovators in Nokia and an important principle, according to which innovators should receive fair remuneration for the use of their inventions. We hope Daimler will now commit and be licensed on fair terms. If we work together, we will win more, "said Nokia Technologies President Yenny Lukander.

Nokia already has agreements with Audi, Bentley, BMW, Mini, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen.

The court verdict gives Nokia the right to ban the sale of cars in Germany. To do this, the company must pay a deposit of seven billion euros. Daimler doubts that they will act on the verdict. The representative of the plaintiff, in turn, stressed that he was pleased with the decision, and expressed the hope that Daimler would obey the court decision^[6].

The essence of the dispute lies in the fact that Nokia wants to have part of the income from each car sold, and the automaker insists on buying out licenses for the production of components. Daimler believes that in this case the Finnish company will receive too much money. The automaker is preparing an appeal, as it cannot understand the grounds for the decision.

Back in July, the German Federal Cartel Office asked judges in Mannheim to apply to the European Court of Justice to rule on this dispute later, but they refused. Several more Nokia lawsuits against Daimler are currently being considered in Munich and Dusseldorf.

At the same time, Nokia indicates that its scheme was accepted by other manufacturers, including BMW and Volkswagen. However, Daimler's position is also supported by manufacturers of auto components, including Continental AG and Robert Bosch GmbH. They insist on including the European Commission in the process, since the essence of the dispute goes beyond the problems of only two companies.

Agreement on payments of 1.9 billion euros in the United States for underestimating car emissions

In August 2020, Daimler AG reached an agreement with US regulators to settle emissions claims for its diesel cars, costing the German automaker about 1.27 billion euros (1.5 billion dollars).

The agreement with authorities including the U.S. Department of Justice, the Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board concerns about 250,000 cars and minibuses, the Mercedes-Benz manufacturer said in a statement.

The company also reached an agreement to settle consumer class action claims, which would cost another 592 million euros.

Daimler expects the additional costs associated with meeting the settlement requirements to be hundreds of millions of euros, and said the costs would affect its business over the next three years.

Buying stake in Chinese battery maker Farasis Energy

In early July 2020, Daimler announced the acquisition of a 3% stake in Chinese battery manufacturer Farasis Energy for $127 million. This is another sign that the German carmaker is preparing to increase the production of electric vehicles. After the deal closes, Daimler will appoint Markus Schäfer, chief operating officer of the Mercedes brand, to the Farasis supervisory board. Read more here.

Daimler and Volvo created a joint venture to develop hydrogen engines

On April 21, 2020, truck manufacturers Daimler Truck (a division of Daimler) and Volvo Group agreed on cooperation in the development of hydrogen engines. To do this, the German and Swedish companies created a joint venture Mercedes-Benz Fuel Cell, whose head office will be located in Nabern (Germany). Read more here.

2019

Daimler: Building a robotaxi business is unrealistic

In mid-November 2019, it became known that Daimler had revised its expectations for a potential business model for self-driving taxis. This was announced by the executive director of the company Ola Kaellenius. Read more here.

Testing Mercedes self-driving trucks on public roads

In early September 2019, Daimler, which produces branded cars, and Mercedes-Benz the company Torc Robotics began testing automated trucks with SAE Level 4 technology on public roads. The first routes follow highways in southwestern Virginia, where Torc Robotics is headquartered.

The work of unmanned trucks will be monitored by engineers and highly qualified drivers. All drivers evaluating the safety of new trucks are specially trained in vehicle dynamics and working with automated systems. Unmanned trucks drove onto public roads after months of versatile tests and safety checks on an isolated highway.

Trucks support the fourth level of autonomy - when the driver's participation is minimal. Daimler does not disclose other technical details about the new trucks. The company is testing a self-driving truck with Torc Robotics, which it bought in March 2019. Founded in 2005, Torc also develops sensors ON for autonomous. transport The truck manufacturer combined all the automated driving work in a global organization headquartered in Blacksburg and Portland USA , as well as in Stuttgart. Germany

Daimler Trucks North America (DTNA) will focus on further developing automated driving technology and integrating self-driving heavy trucks into other businesses. The DTNA team is already working on truck chassis, which are ideal for safe, highly automated driving, as well as creating the infrastructure needed to quickly test primary options.^[7]

BAIC Group bought 5% of Daimler

On July 23, 2019, the Chinese automaker BAIC Group announced the acquisition of a 5 percent stake in Daimler, which produces cars under the Mercedes-Benz brand. 

As reported on the BAIC website, the company directly buys 2.48% of Daimler shares, and also received the right to acquire additional voting rights equal to 2.52% of the share capital of the German auto giant.

Taking into account the 9.69 percent share of Geely in Daimler, it turns out that the share of Chinese in the German company is almost 15%.

By July 23, 2019, Daimler owns about 9.6% of BAIC Motor shares (part of the BAIC group), as well as about 3% in BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology, which produces electric vehicles for the Chinese market. Since 2013, a representative of Daimler has been on the board of directors of BAIC Motor.

In addition, BAIC and Daimler have several joint ventures. Beijing Benz Automotive produces the extended A-Class, GLA, GLC, C-Class and E-Class sedans in Beijing, and Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive assembles commercial trucks. In addition, companies have a common R&D center.

The Chinese market for Daimler is one of the most important. In 2018, the company sold more than 692 thousand cars there.

The sale of Daimler's 5 percent stake will strengthen cooperation with BAIC. The main emphasis in joint work will be on the creation of electric vehicles and self-driving cars.

For Daimler, the partnership will be an opportunity to reduce the cost of developing and producing batteries. It is the high cost at the moment that slows down the large-scale production of electric machines, the European automaker said in a statement.

Following the announcement of the BAIC deal, Daimler shares rose 3% in value^[8]

Purchase of software developer for unmanned vehicles Torc Robotics

At the end of March 2019, Daimler Trucks, the world's largest manufacturer of trucks (brand) Mercedes-Benz , announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in the developer ON for self-driving cars. Torc Robotics More. here

2018

Amazon bought 20 thousand Mercedes cars for the new service

In early September 2018, Amazon announced the purchase of about 20 thousand cars from Mercedes-Benz, which will be used in the new service of the American Internet company - Delivery Service Partner. Read more here.

Cheating in harmful emissions tests

In February 2018, it became known about the use of Daimler special software, with the help of which the company passed tests for harmful emissions in Mercedes-Benz cars. The revealed deception led to a drop in the quotations of the German concern.

According to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper, referring to an investigation conducted in the United States, a program called Bit15 was installed in Mercedes-Benz cars, which, among other things, turned off the exhaust cleaning function after 26 km of the trip. After the cleaning was turned off, the level of harmful emissions exceeded the permissible norm by 10 times.

Thanks to this, the automaker was able to pass emissions tests from diesel engines. Daimler refrains from commenting on documents that have appeared in the media and only says that the company is fully cooperating with the American authorities. It is noted that the details of this interaction cannot be disclosed in accordance with the agreement with the US Department of Justice.

The authorities are aware of these documents and have not filed a single complaint. The documents available to Bild am Sonntag are clearly released selectively to harm Daimler and its 290,000 employees, a company spokesman told Reuters.

Bild am Sonntag, in addition to the results of the investigation, also refers to  its existing electronic correspondence between engineers with questions about the legality of such software.

After the information about the alleged deception of Daimler appeared, the company's shares began to decline. On February 19, 2018, the rate of decline reached 2.4%.

If Daimler's intentions to underestimate emissions of harmful gases are officially proved, then the company may face numerous lawsuits and large fines. Earlier, the concern was at the center of a similar scandal, Volkswagen which as a result was forced to recall a huge number of cars, as well as pay about $30 billion for fines and vehicle repairs.^[9]

In the top ten most expensive German brands

In January 2018, the company entered the top ten most expensive German brands, according to a rating compiled by advertising and communication holding WPP and marketing agency Kantar Millward Brown. Read more here.

2017

Testing drones to deliver goods

In November 2017, it became known about the successful completion of a large-scale Mercedes-Benz testing program UAV for the delivery of everyday goods in. Switzerland

The program lasted three weeks, from September 25 to October 13, 2017, according to the press service of Daimler AG, the parent company of Mercedes-Benz. During this time, the drones completed 100 flights and delivered small purchases to specialist Mercedes vans in different parts of Zurich. As part of the experimental service, a high level of security was demonstrated, and the concern plans to expand flights in 2018, Bloomberg reports.^[10]

Testing was carried out in partnership with the American developer of unmanned systems Matternet and the Swiss Internet retailer Siroop. Drones were used to deliver small purchases from an online store, in particular products from Black & Blaze Coffee Roasting Co., a natural coffee company. In total, about 50 buyers used the express air delivery service from Mercedes.

The vans involved in the project with a specialized platform for landing quadcopters on the roof were located in four fixed points of the city. Drones with cargo were sent to them, flying a distance of up to 17 km. Having delivered the parcel, the UAVs returned, and the final, short segment of the journey to the client's house was carried out by courier by car.

We are very pleased with the results of the pilot project in Switzerland. Our goal was to test the technology and concept of the service in real conditions to find out where optimization is needed. We also wanted to know how people will respond to this form of delivery, "said Stefan Maurer, head of Future Transportation at Mercedes-Benz Vans.

He added that the company sees great prospects for the service and plans to expand it to cover new applications.^[11]

Opening of a development center in Israel

In November 2017 , Daimler opened the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development Center in Tel Aviv. The role of this project, as noted, will be to combine the four largest trends affecting the automotive industry: cloud car services, autonomous vehicles, ridesharing and electric vehicles.

By the time we start working in the Israeli center, whose main focus is on digital technologies and mobile services for cars, there are 15 employees, in 2018 their number will grow to 25.

Previously, Daimler has already invested in Israeli companies specializing in the development of automotive technology. So, in September 2017, the startup StoreDot, which develops fast-charging batteries, received funding in the amount of $60 million from the owner of the Mercedes-Benz brand. At the same time, Daimler became a strategic partner of StoreDot to accelerate the introduction of FlashBattery technology in its electric vehicles.

In addition, the German auto giant has developed, together with the Israeli company Anagog, the EQ Ready application, launched in October 2017. She helps drivers decide whether it makes sense for them to switch to an electric or hybrid vehicle.

According to Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche, in addition to conducting its own research and development in Tel Aviv, the German automaker will seek to partner with Israeli startups, and in some cases invest in them or acquire technology.^[12]

According to Reuters, by November 2017, there are about 450 startups in Israel working on various automotive technologies - from cybersecurity solutions to developments in machine vision.

Use of hydrogen in data centers

In November 2017, Daimler announced its intentions to use hydrogen for power. data centers Partners of the German automaker, which produces cars under the Mercedes-Benz brand, in this project are the IT corporation, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) as well as the American state organization National Renewable Energy Laboratory power and technology developer Power Innovations International.

It is assumed that the fuel cells that Daimler has developed for its machines will be used in data centers in case of too much energy consumption or interruption. Moreover  , unlike backup power from batteries, in the case of fuel cells there are no restrictions - the cell works as long as there is hydrogen.

Thus, fuel cells will not be the main sources of energy in data centers, but reserve for generators running on solar and wind energy.

The developers attributed the advantages of a hydrogen generator on fuel cells to compact size, high reliability, low levels of harmful emissions and low noise emission compared to diesel and gasoline units.

Companies are working to introduce hydrogen cells into existing IT systems. This could make a big difference to  the emergence of environmentally friendly data centers in the future. Daimler notes that the main problems in the implementation of hydrogen systems in data centers are the high cost of the technology due to its weak distribution and the difficulty in building a modular architecture.

A pilot version of the development of Daimler and its partners was presented at the SuperComputing 2017 conference , which was held from November 13 to 17 in Denver (USA). The companies promise to start implementing the project in 2018.^[13]

2015: Audi, BMW and Daimler buy Nokia cards

On August 3, 2015, Nokia announced the sale of the mapping business to German auto giants BMW, Daimler and Audi (part of the Volkswagen concern). The purchase cost is estimated at 2.8 billion euros. Read more here.

Notes