Shareholders approved splitting Daimler AG into two company into two companies one for trucks, Daimler Truck Holdings, and one for cars, making plans to restore the historic Benz name by changing its legal name to the Mercedes-Benz Group AG.
The Benz name, to the consternation of any number of the company’s tradition-minded German shareholders, was lost when Daimler-Benz AG entered the ill-fated merger with the Chrysler Corp. to create DaimlerChrysler in 1998. DaimlerChrysler disappeared after the spinoff of Chrysler in 2007.
Daimler Truck Holding AG will be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, or DAX, so shareholders will hold stock of one of the world’s leading commercial vehicle builders in addition to their shares in Daimler AG, which is now set to change its name officially in February 2022, according to the resolution approved by shareholders during the virtual special shareholders meeting.
The new name reflects the focus on the car and van business with the brands Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG, Mercedes-Maybach and Mercedes-EQ, according to top executives, who have spent more than two years preparing for splitting the company in two independent companies.
Bernd Pischetsrieder, chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG, said the split will safeguard the success of both companies, Daimler Truck and Mercedes-Benz will be able to master the transformation of the industry even more successfully with full entrepreneurial freedom and an independent management structure.
More value for shareholders promised
The split also creates value for shareholders, increases profitability and fully exploits the potential of both units, Pischetsrieder said.
Ola Källenius, chairman of the Boards of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, said, “Daimler is splitting into two strong and independent companies. Now is the right time to take this step: self-determined and from a position of strength. By unlocking the full potential of both companies, we are establishing two undisputed innovation leaders who will set the pace in the transformation of their industries,” he added.
Martin Daum, chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck AG and designated chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler Truck Holding AG, said as a technologically leading manufacturer of trucks and buses, the new company’s plans call for accelerating the development of battery and fuel-cell vehicles in all segments along the way to emission-free transport.
