In our exclusive interview, Chief Executive Officer, Daimler Commercial Vehicles South East Asia Pte. Ltd (DCVSEA), Harald Schmid shares what the spin-off means for our markets. Setting the stage, he said that “The transformation of the business for cars and trucks has a different focus and develops in different speed. Now as an independent organization we will be able to have more speed in decision-making and we will get a better grip on opportunities for example, when it comes to partnerships or the cooperation with local production partners, which might play a bigger role in the future.”

There are of course a lot of benefits, which he identifies as following. Firstly, as mentioned before, the decision making will be much faster. Secondly, the split will allow DCVSEA to focus even more on customer requirements, which are very different in the commercial vehicle segment vs. passenger cars. And lastly, the biggest impact is for the Regional Logistic Center, where DCVSEA will be able to serve customers with spare parts better, as the brand will be able to stock-up more dedicated parts for the commercial customers across SEA region.

On top of that, with Daimler Truck AG there is now a bigger focus on our brands in the region: Mercedes-Benz Trucks, FUSO and Bharat Benz. “We can tap on the entire portfolio that the company has to offer and tailor our offerings to the market,” he said.

The news about the upcoming split has already made the rounds and certain comments have been anticipated. However, Schmid said that “We don’t expect the public to get confused as the split is very straight forward. There will be a company, Mercedes-Benz AG which covers Passenger Cars and Vans, and a company, Daimler Truck AG, which focuses on Daimler Trucks and Buses.” Customers that do have a fleet of Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars as well as Daimler trucks, will be approached by the respective sales team.

Customers in our region will continue to benefit from the dedicated local team. There is no change for the headquarters of the South East Asia region in Singapore. It houses a dedicated sales and aftersales team for Daimler Trucks and Buses who is taking care of the business for South East Asia. “I am very confident that the split and the dedication will further strengthen the focus on our customers, and will bring the overall business in the region forward.”

The existing staff here in SEA is hardly affected, as DCVSEA have already in most of the markets dedication for trucks and buses. In addition, DCVSEA will increase the headcount to inbound activities, which were taken care of by passenger car colleagues before the split. For example in the Logistic Center, there will now be dedication to Trucks and Buses too.“In some of our markets, we had to sign new contracts due to the separation. Other than that, the impact for the dealers and distributors is kept to a minimum to ensure business is running smoothly.” Schmid is confident that the customers will not be affected in any way by this transition.

During their last Global Conference, which was held online due the ongoing pandemic, the board members presented the new setup. Overall it was well received by the General Distributors of our region and everyone is looking forward to the split which will allow Daimler to focus even more on their customers’ requirements. “We will only be able to achieve our ambition with the customer at the centre, and this split of the company will allow us to do so,” said by Antonio Randazzo, Vice President of Daimler Truck Sales & Marketing South East Asia.

Concluding, Schmid said “I am very confident that this is the right direction moving forward and will enable us to allocate resources optimally for both internal combustion vehicles and electric vehicles. This is very important because not all markets in South East Asia will move towards electric vehicles at the same time. The focus on trucks and buses will ensure a balanced approach when it comes to the rollout of EV. “