|
Daum said in an interview on the sidelines of the IAA
Transportation conference in Hannover on Monday that he did not
see any signs of demand dipping in the truck market and that
order books were filling up the moment they were opened.
This demand meant the truck and bus maker was still able to pass
on its higher costs, enabling margins to recover from a hit
during the pandemic to the target range of 7-9%.
The company sold 120,961 units in the second quarter of 2022, up
4% from the same period last year.
Daimler Truck aims for up to 60% of its sales to be electric or
hydrogen-fuelled vehicles by 2030, Daum said after the firm
introduced its first heavy electric truck, fuelled by LFP
batteries to reach a range of up to 500 kilometres.
Daum said Europe, and Germany in particular, was lagging on
building battery production, with most still coming from Asia.
"Germany has a clear competitive disadvantage when it comes to
energy prices," Daum said, referring to record high energy
prices in the German market caused in part by a standoff on gas
deliveries between Germany and Russia.
This could hold back the country's ambitions to build batteries,
a highly energy-intensive process, Daum said.
(Reporting by Christina Amann, Writing by Victoria Waldersee,
Editing by Rachel More and Alexander Smith)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
