Daimler Trucks completes IPO in Frankfurt

The truck and bus manufacturer Daimler Truck, which was spun off from Daimler’s passenger car division on 1 December, has now started trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. With the IPO, the commercial vehicle manufacturer wants to raise capital for its electrification offensive in the field of battery and fuel cell trucks, among other things.

Daimler Truck emphasises right at the beginning of the announcement that investors now have the opportunity “to invest directly in the shares of one of the largest commercial vehicle manufacturers in the world”. On the Frankfurt stock exchange, Daimler Truck also creates an exceptional situation: on Friday, the leading index Dax comprises 41 companies. This is usual for technical reasons when Dax companies are spun off, and Daimler Truck is removed from the Dax again at the close of trading. Due to its corporate value, however, Daimler Truck is considered a promising candidate for a regular promotion to the leading index next year.

Both Daimler board member Ola Källenius and Daimler Truck CEO Martin Daum spoke of a “new era” beginning today. “Today is a historic day for Daimler Truck: For 125 years, our truck and bus business was part of the Daimler Group – now we are becoming an independent, listed company. Making this possible organizationally was a tour de force. My thanks therefore go to our entire team for their unparalleled commitment over the past weeks and months,” Daum said, according to the statement. “So in this respect, today is a finish line for us. We have worked hard to get there. However, this 10th of December 2021 is above all the exact opposite, namely a starting line. Because now things are really getting started for Daimler Truck.”

Daimler Truck comprises more than 100,000 employees worldwide and has more than 40 production facilities of brands such as BharatBenz, Freightliner, FUSO, Mercedes-Benz, Setra, Thomas Built Buses and Western Star. Daimler Truck CFO Jochen Goetz attests to the new company’s “very good starting position” financially. “Our balance sheet is rock solid and we have already proven in the past how reliably we can generate an attractive cash flow,” says the CFO. “We are now putting all our energy into fully exploiting our earnings potential and driving forward the transformation to emission-free transport in a focused manner. We want to create sustainable value for our investors as well.”

In an interview shortly before the IPO, Daum set the direction of the new company. “We have a clear objective for Daimler Truck: we are determined to achieve higher profitability and to win the race towards zero emissions with full commitment,” the CEO told DPA.

The zero-emissions targets are well known: By 2030, battery-electric and fuel cell-electric buses and trucks are to account for 60 per cent of sales worldwide. From 2039 onwards, Daimler Truck only wants to offer vehicles that are “CO2-neutral in driving mode”. With this formulation, Daimler leaves the back door open for combustion engines with synthetic fuels. However, the 60 per cent by 2030 refers purely to BEVs and FCEVs.

Daimler Truck, however, wants to offer battery and fuel cell in parallel – for different purposes. The shorter the distance – for example in light and heavy distribution traffic – the battery is more favourable. Daimler Truck considers hydrogen-based fuel cells “indispensable” for CO2-neutral long-distance truck transport.

daimlertruck.com, sueddeutsche.de (targets in German)