Ahead of a key industry trade fair this week, Daimler Trucks chief Andreas Renschler said he expects volumes of medium and heavy trucks that weigh six tonnes or more to expand to roughly 3 million units over the coming five years.
He did not immediately specify where the growth would stem from, but most industry experts believe demand from emerging markets like China, India, Russia and Brazil will outstrip that in developed economies such as the United States and Western Europe.
The IAA truck fair begins this week in Hanover, where the industry is expected to celebrate an end to a severe slump that began in the fourth quarter of 2008 and stretched all the way into the second quarter of this year.
Renschler told Reuters that he expects the current upward trend to continue in all key markets next year.
Daimler sells the heavy duty Mercedes-Benz Actros truck for long haulage as well as the smaller Atego distribution truck designed primarily for urban use.
It competes most closely with Volvo AB , the only other truckmaker with a comparably global reach in its operations, but also in Europe and Brazil with rivals MAN SE and Scania.
Other truckmakers gathering in Hanover include Paccar's Dutch brand DAF as well as Fiat's light commercial vehicle brand Fiat Professional and truck brand Iveco.
The overall commercial vehicles market includes the segment of delivery vans and transporters, which also closely tracks the economic cycle. (Reuters)
