Daimler Presents European Carrier Awards 2007

First place in the passenger car category awarded to Horst Mosolf GmbH & Co KG

Stuttgart - At the European Carrier Days 2007, Daimler AG once again honored its best providers of vehicle transport logistics in Europe. The awards were presented at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart–Untertürkheim. In addition to the European Carrier Awards Passenger Cars, which were presented for the eighth time, Daimler also presented the fourth European Carrier Awards Commercial Vehicles for the fourth time this year.

As was the case last year, first place in the passenger car category went to the freight forwarding company Horst Mosolf GmbH & Co. KG Internationale Spedition from Kirchheim/Teck, Germany. Daimler was once again particularly impressed by the company’s outstanding logistics processes, which are supported by a consistent and continuous system of quality management and controlling. Second place went to Frankenbach Automobil Logistik GmbH from Ginsheim-Gustavsburg, Germany, while Akkermann Transporte GmbH from Moormerland, Germany, finished third.

In the commercial vehicles category, first place was once again awarded to Helf Automobil-Logistik GmbH in Essen, Germany. The company received the award primarily in recognition of its outstanding logistics processes, which have been further enhanced, and its sophisticated quality management system. Second and third place went to Galliker Transport AG from Switzerland and Frankenbach Automobil Logistik GmbH from Germany, respectively.

The award winners are selected on the basis of key performance indicators that are assessed in an auditing process which has been standardized for both passenger cars and commercial vehicles since 2004. Over the course of a year, all of the companies’ vehicle shipments are continuously monitored with regard to transport damage, transport time, the quality of vehicle shipping, and the general condition of the equipment used. The results are subsequently evaluated.

“We consistently enhanced the evaluation process for our service providers in order to move forward on the road toward achieving operational excellence in the transport logistics of complete vehicles,” says Egon Christ, head of Transport Logistics Vehicles at Daimler. “We have set up a comprehensive company assessment system with the aim of ensuring that our service providers continuously optimize all of their processes on a sustained basis. In order to further boost people’s motivation for achieving top performance, we will directly link the remuneration of commercial vehicle transports to performance in the future. In doing so, we are taking advantage of our extensive experience with passenger car transports, for which we introduced performance-based remuneration two years ago.”

At the European Carrier Days, Daimler also staged a special informational trade show that was expanded compared to last year's event. Representatives from about 100 European shipping companies attended the show to discuss the latest developments in the sector and obtain information on current plans and concepts for vehicle logistics.

Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche Presents smart fortwo to US Govt. Representatives and Business

At a traditional luncheon with prominent speakers hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, Daimler Chairman Dr. Dieter Zetsche today presented the smart fortwo to representatives of U.S. businesses and government as an environmentally friendly solution for future mobility. Starting in January, the compact model, which has already been very successful in Europe with about 850,000 units sold, will also be available in the U.S.

2008 smart fortwo micro hybrid drive (mhd)

In his presentation to the high-profile audience in Washington, Dr. Zetsche expressed his conviction that the smart fortwo will be a resounding success in the U.S. as well. The reason is that the smallest model produced by Mercedes-Benz Cars is a standout - not only because of its unique compact design and intelligent, safety-oriented construction, but also thanks to its low fuel consumption and exemplary environmental friendliness. "Europeans are enthusiastic about the smart and we are beginning to see Americans share this enthusiasm," said Dr. Zetsche. "More than 50,000 Americans have already tested the smart in our U.S. road show, and over 30,000 of them have by now reserved a vehicle.”

Zetsche added that he could well imagine a large-scale project in cooperation with a partner city in the U.S. to test the electrically powered smart fortwo, similar to the project that is currently running in London. Interested guests were able to experience the "zero-emission" smart fortwo at first hand during today's event and form their own impressions through test drives.

The distribution partner for the sale of smart models in the U.S. will be the Penske Automotive Group.