Van sales in Western Europe rose to 194,800 units, a significant increase on the previous year's figure of 181,400. The business unit also posted significant sales growth of 59 percent in the NAFTA region, where the Sprinter is marketed under the Freightliner and Dodge brands. Last year, total sales for the region rose to 18,900 units (2003: 11,800).
?In Western Europe, our business unit is the market leader in the segment for mid-size and large vans, and it continues to build on this lead,? says Dr. Rolf Bartke, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. ?U.S. sales of the Sprinter have risen continuously since its market introduction at the start of 2002, and this is helping us strengthen our competitive position on the global market.? Bartke also added that Mercedes-Benz Vans had marked another major milestone on the road to penetrating the Asian market. Bartke was referring to the contract signed in November
2004 regarding the foundation of a joint venture - DaimlerChrysler Vans (China) Ltd. - with the China Motor Corporation (Taiwan) and the Fujian Motor Industry Group. As of 2006, approxi-mately 40,000 units of the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter and the new Viano/Vito van family are to be produced each year at a new production plant in Fuzhou City in the province of Fujian.It is exactly 10 years since Mercedes-Benz first presented the Sprinter, which has been manufactured at the Düsseldorf plant, DaimlerChrysler's largest van manufacturing facility, since 1995. With accumulated sales of more than 1.2 million units, the Sprinter is the best-selling vehicle of its class in Europe and can today be found in more than 100 countries around the world. The Sprinter has won numerous awards and, thanks to continuous enhancements, is every bit as fresh and modern as it was at the start of its illustrious career - a fact also powerfully underlined by the record output of over 140,000 units in 2004.
The successor to the Sprinter, which is to be launched in 2006, will be produced both at Düsseldorf and Ludwigsfelde in Brandenburg.
Development of the HYBRID Sprinter with plug-in technology is already relatively far advanced. This vehicle, which was unveiled at the IAA Commercial Vehicles Show in 2004, is equipped with a 70 kW electric motor that is integrated into the drive train between the transmission and the clutch. The motor is powered by nickel-metal hydride or lithiumion batteries (14 kWh capacity), which are recharged from a power socket overnight (plug-in system). In addition, the batteries are recharged during vehicle operation by harnessing the energy made available during braking or traveling downhill. This energy is lost when a conventional drive system is used. When operating in pure, emission-free electrical mode, the vehicle has a range of up to 30 kilometers. Customer tests on the HYBRID Sprinter with plug-in technology are scheduled to begin this year.
This spring will also see the opening of the Van Technology Center (VTC) on the site of the Untertürkheim plant. This facility will bring together many key areas of the Mercedes-Benz Vans business unit, including management, strategy, controlling, sales, development, and testing and workshop facilities. ?The VTC will integrate processes and streamline communications,? said Bartke. ?It will play a key role in in-creasing quality and efficiency and therefore help us to consolidate our market leadership as well as open up new markets."
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