The North American subsidiary of the world’s largest truck maker posted revenue of $6.49 billion in the three months that ended Dec. 31. (dpa/TNS)
Daimler Truck North America had a steady fourth quarter of 2024 and full year, but the rest of Daimler Truck is set for a substantial reorganization and strategy revamp, with job cuts in the cards in Europe.
DTNA sold 46,802 trucks and buses in the fourth quarter, down 3% compared with the year-ago period, Daimler Truck said March 14.
The North American subsidiary of the world’s largest truck maker — which owns the Freightliner and Western Star brands — posted revenue of $6.49 billion in the three months that ended Dec. 31, 0.46% below Q4 2023’s $6.52 billion. Daimler Truck reports earnings in euros and conversions were correct as of March 14.
DTNA’s sales margin, however, rose to 12.3% in Q4 from 12% in the year-ago period, with the parent company citing higher prices and a larger share of sales from vocational trucks, which return a bigger profit.
“The fourth quarter in 2024 was impacted by lower volumes, increased material costs and [foreign exchange] headwinds. This was offset by pricing and customer mix,” Chief Financial Officer Eva Scherer said during a March 14 conference call with analysts.
Portland, Ore.-headquartered DTNA sold 190,428 vehicles in 2024, down 2.35% from 195,014 in 2023, confirming preliminary results released Jan. 14.
Freightliner sold 86,470 Class 8 trucks in 2024, a decrease of 11.2% from 97,370 in 2023, according to Wards Intelligence data, also released Jan. 14.
Western Star sold 11,612 trucks in 2024, up 39.5% compared with 8,326 purchases in 2023, Wards data shows.
“Our vocational strategy is paying off. We’ve increased our vocational Class 8 unit sales by more than 35%, from 28,000 units to 38,000 units, and with this, increased the resilience of our North American business by reducing our dependency on the on-highway market, where we dominate,” CEO Karin Radstrom said during the conference call.
DTNA’s return on those sales in 2024 was 12.6%, compared with 12.3% in 2023.
(Daimler Truck)
Sales in the U.S. totaled 156,187 trucks and buses in 2024, a 4% year-on-year decrease, and fell 5% in Canada to 15,608 vehicles. But sales in Mexico jumped 26% year over year to 17,461 vehicles.
“In North America, the heavy-duty Class 8 market was slightly above average levels despite the impact from the longest freight recession we’ve seen,” Radstrom said during the call.
Looking forward, DTNA’s order book in 2024 totaled 160,333 trucks and buses, compared with 159,876 in 2023.
And Daimler Truck anticipates Class 8 trucks sales in 2025 across the U.S., Canada and Mexico to be in a range of 280,000 to 320,000 vehicles, compared with 308,000 trucks in 2024.
Scherer said 2025 got off to a strong start for DTNA in the first quarter, and that an on-highway recovery alongside continued vocational market strength in the second half of 2025 would see DTNA sales increase overall year on year.
However, orders slowed over the past few weeks due to uncertainty related to tariffs, the CFO said, and it might hurt Q2 orders too.
“Our full-year guidance is not dependent on an EPA 2027 pre-buy in the second half of ’25, it is really the effect of tariffs that we need to exclude from the guidance,” Scherer said.
“A recovery of the market in the second half of [2025] is dependent on the resolution of the current regulatory uncertainties, including potential tariffs,” she added.
Radstrom said the company can produce all its models in the U.S. and is preparing for a number of scenarios if needed. The company’s plants can ramp up production if they have to due to tariffs, she added.
“It is a little bit too early to pull the levers, but we are definitely prepared and following what will happen with the tariff situation,” the company’s top executive said.
Globally, meanwhile, Daimler Truck sold 460,409 trucks and buses overall in the 12 months that ended Dec. 31, down 12.5% from 526,053 in 2023.
The company’s Mercedes-Benz Trucks division sold 126,477 vehicles in 2024, down 20.2% compared with 158,511 trucks in 2023, while its Asian trucks unit sold 125,234 vehicles in 2024, down 22.3% compared with 161,171 a year earlier.
And after a review begun following Radstrom’s installation as CEO in October, major changes are coming.
Radstrom merged the company’s Indian and Chinese operations into Mercedes-Benz Trucks and continues to mull the future of Chinese joint venture Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive.
Daimler Truck took a $130.8 million write-down in July on the value of the Chinese JV because of a persistently weak market in Asia’s largest economy.
The truck maker will also institute a 1 billion-euro a year ($1.09 billion) cost reduction program in Europe by 2030, including material and R&D costs and head count cuts.
Radstrom said talks with powerful German works councils began in February and that further details would be revealed at a capital markets day in Charlotte, N.C., in July.
Daimler Truck profit in 2024 fell 23% year over year to $3.334 billion from $4.319 billion in 2023. Revenue decreased 3% to $58.802 billion from $60.769 billion.
The company expects its vehicle sales globally to range between 460,000 and 480,000 units in 2025, compared with 2024’s 460,409 trucks and buses.
