Shareholders of Daimler AG, the parent company of Daimler Trucks and its myriad of brands (Freightliner, being one of them), voted Wednesday to reorganize the company, clearing the way to place its truck and bus business into a legally independent entity. Shareholders also voted Wednesday to allow a similar set-up for the company’s car and van business.
The company’s new structure is targeted for Nov. 1, 2019. From then, Mercedes-Benz AG will be responsible for the current Mercedes-Benz Cars and Mercedes-Benz Vans divisions, while Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses will be joined in a company dubbed Daimler Truck AG.
Daimler Financial Services AG, already legally independent, will be called Daimler Mobility AG from July 24, 2019 on.
The two new companies, like the current Daimler AG and the future Daimler Mobility AG, will be co-determined German stock corporations with registered offices in Stuttgart.
Manfred Bischoff, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG, says the new structure enhances the company’s ability to “act in a dynamically growing competitive environment, including in terms of raising capital. It will also let us to better respond to customer and market needs.”
As a publicly listed parent company, Daimler AG will perform the functions of governance, strategy and control, and will provide group-wide services.
After more than 13 years as Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Dr. Dieter Zetsche stepped down from his position at the end of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting. With effect at the end of a two-year cooling off period, the Supervisory Board intends to propose to the shareholders at the 2021 Annual Meeting that Zetsche be elected to the Supervisory Board. Ola Källenius took over from Zetsche at the end of the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting as Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
