Daimler AG is holding to its forecast for improved earnings this year, and the company boosted its 2011 forecast for North American truck market growth, Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
Daimler, which makes Freightliner brand trucks in North America and owns Kawasaki, Japan-based truck maker Fuso, reiterated that its 2011 operating profit will “significantly” exceed the 7.2 billion euros ($10.4 billion) it earned last year, Bloomberg said.
At its annual shareholders’ meeting in Berlin, the Germany-based company boosted its 2011 forecast for the North American truck market to growth of 30% to 35%, compared with a previous projection of a 20% to 25%.
Its trucks unit is targeting a “substantial” increase in sales this year lifted by more robust markets in Europe and North America, Bloomberg reported.
The trucks division’s first- quarter deliveries rose 27%, while orders surged 65%, and its truck sales will likely accelerate in coming months, Andreas Renschler, the truck unit’s chief, said last month.
Daimler plans to sell more than 1.3 million Mercedes-Benz and Smart-brand vehicles in 2011 compared with 1.28 million deliveries last year, Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said at the Berlin meeting, Bloomberg reported.
