The Ulm-based bus and coach brand Setra has delivered its 100th new vehicle since 1999 to Latvia. The Setra S 415 UL was handed over to the bus operator "Talsu Autotransports" together with a second S 415 UL from the MultiClass 400 series. The two buses from the current generation of Setra inter-urban vehicles are equipped with 49 seats. With integrated service sets, double-glazing, adjustable backrests on the "Route" seats, air conditioning, a destination display and a pushchair space opposite the centre entry, they meet all the requirements of the Latvian transport ministry.
Setra MultiClass buses connect Talsi with Riga
In future the two vehicles will be in regular inter-urban service around the city of Talsi, where the company is based, and on the roughly 120-kilometre long route to the Latvian capital Riga.
The bus operator Talsu Autotransports has been a partner of Daimler's Ulm-based bus and coach brand for ten years, and has vehicles from all three Setra product families - TopClass 400, ComfortClass 400 and MultiClass 400 – in its fleet. The company not only services the local and regional inter-urban routes, but also uses its vehicles for tours throughout Europe on behalf of travel agencies.
Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Daimler Buses achieved its second-best sales result ever in 2011, selling a total of 39,740 vehicles or 2% more than in the previous year. The division achieved this result despite difficult sales conditions for complete buses. The only time that sales were even higher was in 2008, when almost 40,600 units were delivered. As a result, Daimler Buses continues to be the world’s leading supplier of buses weighing more than 8 tons GVW.
311,000 buses were sold worldwide, an increase of 2% compared to the previous year. Whereas business was booming particularly in Latin America, the bus market in Western Europe remained in a slump because of the financial and debt crisis. Market development was similarly negative in North America, which, like its Western European counterparts, suffered from public sector budget constraints and therefore from substantially fewer calls for bids.
Strong sales increase in growth markets
The main reason for the rise in sales at Daimler Buses was the increased demand in Latin America, where the division boosted sales of Mercedes-Benz brand chassis by 8% to 25,000 units. Sales were also buoyed by purchases made earlier than planned due to the introduction of the Euro V emissions standard in Brazil in 2012. The market share of Daimler Buses in Latin America remained at a high level of around 43% in 2011. Substantial increases were posted in Mexico as well. Business was also good in Turkey, where sales rose by 55% to the record figure of 1,100 buses.
By contrast, Daimler Buses was unable to buck the downward trend in Western Europe and North America. As a result, sales dropped in Western Europe by 17% to 5,900 vehicles and chassis. Sales of city buses once again declined steeply, as the public sector continued to be negatively influenced by budget restraints. The division sold 600 buses in North America, or almost one third less than in 2010. Budgetary constraints were also the defining factor in this market.
“In 2011 we kept pace with the global market as a whole,” says Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses. “We captured an impressive 12% of the global market, which makes us the world’s Number One bus supplier. More specifically, we clearly maintained our leading position in the core markets.”
Daimler Buses’ revenues and earnings both declined in 2011. At €4.4 billion (2010: €4.6 billion), revenues were slightly lower than in the prior year. These figures are the result of two contrary developments. Whereas the demand for chassis rose substantially, it dropped considerably for complete buses, which generate significantly more revenue per bus. This development therefore had an even bigger impact on earnings than on revenues, and EBIT declined from €215 million to €162 million. “2011 was clearly a chassis year, while the business with complete buses was very sluggish, particularly in Europe,” comments Schick.
"We've got the right strategy"
Even though Daimler Buses’ return on sales dropped to 3.7% in 2011 (2010: 4.7%), the division’s target for 2013 remains at 6%. “We have the right strategy, and we will systematically pursue it,” says Schick. A key element of this strategy is the GLOBE 2013 growth and efficiency offensive. This “fitness program” will be rolled out at all locations and along the entire value chain. “We will leave no stone unturned and make sure that nothing is omitted,” states Schick.
One of the aims of this strategy is to more strongly interlink the European production network, which has locations in Germany, Turkey, and the Czech Republic. The two German bus plants in Mannheim and Neu-Ulm will remain an integral part of this network, which is why the division invested extensively there in recent years as well as in Hosdere, Turkey.
“GLOBE 2013 will further increase the competitiveness of the German locations. We are making Mannheim and Neu-Ulm sustainably fit for the future. Daimler Buses is the only major bus manufacturer to remain faithful to Germany as a production location,” says Schick.
As part of GLOBE 2013, Daimler Buses will exploit existing growth potential in its traditional markets and further expand its business operations into new ones. In response to the introduction of the Euro VI emissions standard, the division is launching a product offensive in the city bus segment as well as in the coach market. Daimler Buses’ Travego Edition 1 is the first Euro VI-compliant coach. “Our products precisely meet our customers’ wishes, and we will systematically exploit growth potential,” says Schick.
City buses in India — chassis in China
Big growth opportunities are also offered by new markets such as India and China. After having introduced two travel coach models in India since 2008, Daimler Buses is now launching the first Mercedes-Benz city bus there. India is the world’s second-largest bus market, with a current volume of about 46,000 buses per year. Experts predict that this volume will grow to around 80,000 units in 2020.
By then, the bus market in China is expected to increase from its current level of more than 100,000 units to around 150,000 units. Daimler Buses is taking a multi-track approach in order to exploit the opportunities in China. The division will begin selling chassis in the country this year. In addition, Daimler Buses will talk with the Chinese company Foton about joint projects. Foton and Daimler are already cooperating in the truck sector. The two companies are partners in the joint venture company Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd., which produces Auman brand medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks in China.
Daimler Buses expects sales to be negatively affected by the introduction of the Euro V emissions standard in Brazil this year, whereas business will probably improve slightly in Western Europe.
Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Belgian coach operator Voyages Léonard is giving its fleet of vehicles a facelift with 17 Setra TopClass touring coaches. The coaches form part of an order for a total of 32 new vehicles which the Sales-Lentz Group has placed with the Daimler brand. Luxembourg's largest bus company became the Belgian tour operator's new owner in January 2011.
"We are proud to have been granted an opportunity to support this highly significant cooperation for the region of Luxembourg and Belgium with our vehicles," said Lothar Holder, Setra brand spokesman at EvoBus GmbH, when the first ten coaches were handed over at the Setra customer centre in Neu-Ulm. "This handover also highlights the true partnership and close collaboration which have existed between our brand and Voyages Léonard for over 40 years now."
At the handover ceremony, which was also attended by a large group of employees, tour guides and customers who had travelled to Neu-Ulm to witness the event, the two managers, Daniel and Pascal Léonard, took receipt of five S 431 DT double-decker coaches as well as the company's first high-deck coaches from the current Setra TopClass generation, in the guise of four S 416 HDH coaches and one S 415 HD. With features such as glass roofs and multichannel sound systems, the HD and HDH vehicles offer superlative touring comfort. They additionally all incorporate the most cutting-edge safety systems available on the market. A further seven vehicles are to be delivered in the course of this year.
Founded in 1946, the Belgian company is currently run by the family's third generation, operating in the fields of coach transfer, coach, air and self-drive tours and travel sales. Voyages Léonard currently has a workforce of around 80 and operates a 30-strong fleet consisting exclusively of Setra coaches.
Credits: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
Landmark figure in Scandinavia for the Setra Bus and Coach Unit. The Ulm-based Daimler brand delivered its 1500th new vehicle to Sweden. Managing directors Lena Persson and Lennart Robertsson received the milestone vehicle, a Setra ComfortClass S 416 GT-HD, at the Customer Centre in Neu-Ulm from Michael Frey, Head of Market Management Setra Export Markets.
With the new vehicle the company "Karl Everts", which was taken over by the entrepreneurs Persson and Robertsson four years ago, currently has five Setra coaches in service. Lena Persson: "What we have come to appreciate above all about Setra is the high quality along with the comprehensive aftersales service." The coaches owned by the company based in Trollhättan, Sweden, which has been a partner of Setra since 1976, are on the road throughout the whole of Europe.
With its ComfortClass touring coaches, Setra has set the standard throughout Europe in the field of combined touring and occasional-service operations. Two trade magazines awarded the "Green Coach Award" a few weeks ago to the12-metre version, the S 415 GT-HD, as the most economical touring coach at the "Busworld" show in Kortrijk, Belgium.
Setra is now providing the S 415 GT-HD, the 13-metre-long two-axle version S 416 GT-HD and the 15-metre-long three-axle model S 419 GT-HD with a rear entrance. This configuration provides the touring coach with extra room for a generous luggage compartment, a continuous passenger compartment and for a spacious rear galley.
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
The delivery of an S 415 GT-HD at the end of October was a special cause for celebration for the company Gebrüder Ebneter AG in the Swiss town of St. Gallen. The Setra ComfortClass coach was the 50th new vehicle from the production line in Neu-Ulm to come to the long-established, family-run company. With the arrival of this latest two-axle model the tour operator, currently run by the third generation of the same family, now operates a total of nine buses from the Daimler brand.
The company was originally established as a greengrocer's business by Johann Ebneter, grandfather of the current managing directors Stefan and Urs Ebneter, in 1933. The next generation of the family, represented by their father, Hans Ebneter, developed the company as a transport and travel operator, buying the company's first Setra bus in 1956. "The compact shape and integral body construction of the Setra S 6, together with its new-style rear-mounted engine, offered a very convincing package in every respect", reminisced Hans Ebneter at the handover of the milestone vehicle at the company's premises in the St. Gallen suburb of St. Georgen.
This loyalty to Setra remains part and parcel of the company's activities to this day. The family-run company, which also undertakes furniture removals in and around St. Gallen, has remained faithful to the Ulm bus brand's coaches over the years and through all the various model series. All in all, the company now has one of the largest and most up-to-date fleets of buses in the whole of eastern Switzerland. Gebrüder Ebneter AG's extensive brochure encompasses day trips as well as city tours and cultural mini-breaks throughout Europe.
Source: Daimler AG
Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.
