Roberto Leoncini (50) is the new head of sales and marketing for Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses in Brazil. He is to take the position after 26 years at Scania, where until now he was General Director with responsibility for the entire sales and aftersales operations. In his new function at Daimler Trucks, he is responsible for all sales and marketing functions for Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses in that market, starting June 1st. Leoncini will report directly to Philipp Schiemer, President of Mercedes-Benz do Brasil and CEO of Daimler Trucks Latin America, and will be a member of the board of the national company.
Leoncini succeeds to Joachim Maier, who took over as President of Mercedes-Benz Argentina at the beginning of February and will push forward with the development of sales in that other important growth market.
“Mercedes-Benz has been at home in Brazil for more than 50 years and in that time has become established as leading brand for commercial vehicles. We want to further strengthen this strong position and to become the most attractive manufacturer in Brazil for customers and employees. With Roberto Leoncini a proven Sales and Marketing expert for trucks will strengthen our leadership team in Brazil”, stated Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses.
Brazil is the world’s biggest market for unit sales of Mercedes-Benz trucks. Despite intense competition, Daimler was able to conclude the year 2013 very successfully in Brazil with sales of 39,000 trucks, representing a 34 percent increase compared with the previous year.
The business with Mercedes-Benz bus chassis in Brazil grew by 16 percent to sales of approximately 13,000 units in 2013. Thus, Daimler recorded a market share of over 44 percent in the total bus segment. Due not least to the soccer World Cup and new products for the high-volume school-bus segment, the bus division anticipates a further increase in unit sales in Brazil in 2014.
“In this important market, we intend to stay at the forefront and we will succeed in doing so”, emphasized Stefan Buchner, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks and added: “In order to be successful over the long term, we are continuously investing in our products and production facilities, and systematically strengthening our already excellent team.”
From 2014 to 2015, Daimler Trucks will invest in Brazil a total of one billion Brazilian real (approximately 300 million euro) in researching and developing new products and innovative technologies as well as in optimizing processes and modernizing the two production plants in São Bernardo do Campo (state of São Paulo) and Juiz de Fora (state of Minas Gerais).
That amount is part of a substantial overall investment by Mercedes-Benz do Brasil of 2.5 billion Brazilian real (around 750 million euro) over a six-year period from 2010 through 2015. So far, approximately 1.5 billion real has flowed into the production of trucks, buses and components at the Brazilian sites.
About Mercedes-Benz do Brasil
Daimler has been established in Brazil since 1956 and has developed into a leading manufacturer of commercial vehicles in the country, with a market-specific product portfolio of Mercedes-Benz trucks, bus chassis and vans.
At the plant in São Bernardo do Campo, Daimler produces trucks, bus chassis and main components such as engines, transmissions and axles, as well as truck cabs. The company has another plant in Juiz de Fora, which is also an element of the worldwide Mercedes-Benz production network for commercial vehicles. Since 2012, the Mercedes-Benz Actros and the light-duty Accelo have been produced there for the Latin American market in order to be able to fully utilize future growth potential.
