Daimler's Supervisory Board gives its full backing to business plan 2021-2025

STUTTGART, Germany, Dec. 3, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- 

• Daimler to accelerate the transformation towards electrification and digitization
• Investment plan of more than ?70 billion confirmed
• Board of Management and General Works Council launch a new transformation fund with a value of ?1 billion

The Supervisory Board of Daimler AG has given its full backing to the company's strategic course, the related business plan for the years 2021 through 2025, and the measures derived to achieve the targeted profitability. As one of those measures, the investment plan for the ongoing transformation towards electrification and digitization was confirmed. From 2021 through 2025, Daimler will invest more than ?70 billion in research and development and in property, plant and equipment. Most of this investment will be at Mercedes-Benz Cars. As explained in the Mercedes-Benz Strategy Update on October 6, Mercedes-Benz Cars' R&D expenditure and capex will decrease during this period and will be more than 20% lower in 2025 than in 2019. Furthermore, within this business plan Daimler Trucks will also be able to accelerate its plans towards emission free transportation.

Management and the General Works Council have also agreed to set up a transformation fund with a value of ?1 billion and a term until 2025. This amount comes in addition to the planned investments. The details of the fund will be established by the two parties in the first quarter of 2021. It will mainly be used to promote the further development of future technologies and to safeguard employment during the transformation at the German sites.

Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Boards of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG: "With the Supervisory Board's confidence in our strategic course, we will be able to invest more than ?70 billion over the next five years. We want to push ahead faster in particular with electrification and digitization. In addition, we have agreed with the Works Council on a transformation fund. With this agreement, we are fulfilling our shared responsibility to actively shape the transformation of our company. Improving our profitability and targeted investment in Daimler's future go hand in hand."

Michael Brecht, Chairman of the General Works Council of Daimler AG: "After controversial discussions in recent weeks, we have achieved that, in addition to the Daimler investment plan, a transformation fund of ?1 billion is to be established. The General Works Council has called for this transformation fund in order to enable additional investment in the ongoing development of our sites. In this way, we can mitigate the disruption of the transformation and send an important signal to our colleagues. The additional funding gives us more opportunities to implement new technologies and products in our plants, thus protecting jobs and know-how. The fund is therefore an important element to make the transformation at Daimler a fair one."

Further information on Daimler is available at: www.daimler.com

This document contains forward-looking statements that reflect our current views about future events. The words "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "can," "could," "plan," "project," "should" and similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to many risks and uncertainties, including an adverse development of global economic conditions, in particular a decline of demand in our most important markets; a deterioration of our refinancing possibilities on the credit and financial markets; events of force majeure including natural disasters, pandemics, acts of terrorism, political unrest, armed conflicts, industrial accidents and their effects on our sales, purchasing, production or financial services activities; changes in currency exchange rates and tariff regulations; a shift in consumer preferences towards smaller, lower-margin vehicles; a possible lack of acceptance of our products or services which limits our ability to achieve prices and adequately utilize our production capacities; price increases for fuel or raw materials; disruption of production due to shortages of materials, labor strikes or supplier insolvencies; a decline in resale prices of used vehicles; the effective implementation of cost-reduction and efficiency-optimization measures; the business outlook for companies in which we hold a significant equity interest; the successful implementation of strategic cooperations and joint ventures; changes in laws, regulations and government policies, particularly those relating to vehicle emissions, fuel economy and safety; the resolution of pending government investigations or of investigations requested by governments and the conclusion of pending or threatened future legal proceedings; and other risks and uncertainties, some of which we describe under the heading "Risk and Opportunity Report" in the current Annual Report or the current Interim Report. If any of these risks and uncertainties materializes or if the assumptions underlying any of our forward-looking statements prove to be incorrect, the actual results may be materially different from those we express or imply by such statements. We do not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements since they are based solely on the circumstances at the date of publication.

Daimler at a glance
Daimler AG is one of the world's most successful automotive companies. With its Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans, Daimler Trucks & Buses and Daimler Mobility divisions, the Group is one of the leading global suppliers of premium cars and one of the world's largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles. Daimler Mobility offers financing, leasing, fleet management, investments, credit card and insurance brokerage as well as innovative mobility services. The company founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, made history by inventing the automobile in 1886. As a pioneer of automotive engineering, Daimler sees shaping the future of mobility in a safe and sustainable way as both a motivation and obligation. The company's focus therefore remains on innovative and green technologies as well as on safe and superior vehicles that both captivate and inspire. Daimler continues to invest systematically in the development of efficient powertrains ? from high-tech combustion engines and hybrid vehicles to all-electric powertrains with battery or fuel cell ? with the goal of making locally emission-free driving possible in the long term. The company's efforts are also focused on the intelligent connectivity of its vehicles, autonomous driving and new mobility concepts. Daimler regards it as its aspiration and obligation to live up to its responsibility to society and the environment. Daimler sells its vehicles and services in nearly every country of the world and has production facilities in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. In addition to Mercedes-Benz, the world's most valuable luxury automotive brand (source: Interbrand study, 20 Oct. 2020), and Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes me, its brand portfolio includes smart, EQ, Freightliner, Western Star, BharatBenz, FUSO, Setra and Thomas Built Buses as well as the brands of Daimler Mobility: Mercedes-Benz Bank, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and Daimler Truck Financial. The company is listed on the Frankfurt and Stuttgart stock exchanges (ticker symbol DAI). In 2019, the Group had a workforce of around 298,700 and sold 3.3 million vehicles. Group revenues amounted to ?172.7 billion and Group EBIT to ?4.3 billion.

SOURCE Daimler North America - Corporate Communications