Mercedes Benz

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

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More than 1,600,000 commercial vehicles produced in 52 years
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Company is historical sales leader of buses and heavy trucks
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5 of every ten trucks circulating in Brazil are branded with
Mercedes-Benz
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7 of every 10 buses circulating in the country are from Mercedes-Benz

São Bernardo do Campo, May 27, 2008 – Mercedes-Benz do Brasil reached a record of more than 1,600,000 commercial vehicles produced in Brazil. The biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in Latin America started its activities in the country in 1956. “We are very proud of the market position we reached in Brazil with the production of 1,140,000 trucks and 500,000 buses. This is an unprecedented volume among manufacturers of commercial vehicles in the country”, says Gero Herrmann, Company president.

With nearly 28,000 Mercedes-Benz trucks sold in Brazil in 2007. The brand with the star is the market leader with a market share of 29% in the heavy-duty segment. In total, 50% of the circulating truck fleet in Brazil are produced in São Bernardo do Campo.
A high level of Mercedes-Benz’s participation is also noticed in the Brazilian circulating bus fleet, currently with 70%. Last year, the company registered a sales volume of more than 12,600 units in Brazil, which represents a share of 52%, market leader in the segment.

The quality of the products manufactured by Mercedes-Benz do Brasil is recognized internationally. Trucks and buses are sold in Latin America and in several other continents. Among the major markets are Argentina, Chile, Peru, Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa and Jordania.
The company is also the biggest exporter of commercial vehicles in Latin America. In total, around 180,000 Mercedes-Benz trucks produced in Brazil were exported since 1965. Recently, the brand surpassed the milestone of 150,000 buses exported since 1961.

Today, the plant in São Bernardo do Campo has around 12,000 employees and produces daily 260 vehicles between trucks and buses. It is a world competence center of Daimler AG for the development and production of bus chassis of the Mercedes-Benz brand. The exclusive assembly line of bus chassis is a benchmark for other group companies worldwide, due to the implementation of production optimization programs, as just in time and improvement as kaizen.

In its unit of São Bernardo do Campo, Mercedes-Benz do Brasil counts with the biggest Technological Development Center – CDT of Daimler AG outside Germany, where it develops and tests the products and the technologies applied to buses, trucks and aggregates. A pioneering activity center in Brazil, this CDT is also the biggest in Latin America among all manufacturers of commercial vehicles.

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