DaimlerChrysler wants to expand its truck dealer network, according to truck division head Andreas Renschler, interviewed by the Financial Times Deutschland newspaper.
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In particular, the company is planning to have more unique truck outlets, and to separate truck and passenger car sales.
Mercedes-Benz dealers have raised some concerns at this, according to dpa-AFX news. Currently Mercedes-Benz dealers often sell both cars and trucks, and dealers would find it difficult to invest in new locations given the low margins currently available in the sector, a representative of the Mercedes-Benz dealers association said.
Renschler reportedly said that it would not cost much to build up a truck dealer network as the dealers would make most of the investment. “We don’t need glass palaces with showrooms in the centre of town to sell trucks,” he said.
“It would be better to have logistics centres on motorways offering 24-hour service, seven days a week.”
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By GlobalDataSpeaking at the IAA Truck show in Hannover, Renschler said European, US and Japanese truck markets are expected to cool-off dramatically next year, after booming in 2006.
Longer-term, however, the company is more optimistic.
On the potential merger of MAN and Scania, Renschler said the company is ‘relaxed’, according to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. He told the newspaper that DaimlerChrysler is well-established and can achieve the desired economies of scale with existing brands and products.
