In addition to manufacturing civilian commercial vehicles, the group has also been supplying the Russian military with armored vehicles for years.
(Photo: Bloomberg)
Munich As a result of the war in Ukraine, Daimler Truck has taken another step away from its long-term Russian partner Kamaz. Specifically, the world’s largest truck manufacturer is withdrawing its two representatives from the vehicle manufacturer’s twelve-member board of directors until further notice.
Jan Krönig, Head of Strategy at Daimler Truck, and Wolfram Schmid, Head of Product Platforms, will be retiring their mandates at Kamaz with immediate effect, a group spokesman confirmed to the Handelsblatt on Tuesday. As a result, the two managers will no longer attend meetings of the Kamaz board of directors.
On Monday, Daimler Truck had already stopped the joint production of trucks and driver’s cabs with the Russians.
The companies had previously built heavy Mercedes semi-trailers together at a plant in the Tartastan region for almost twelve years. But now the signs point to separation: Daimler Truck is considering a complete withdrawal from Russia, according to company circles. Not least because the alliance with Kamaz has recently come under heavy criticism.
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Admittedly, Daimler Truck has only ever worked with the Russians on civilian commercial vehicles. But Kamaz has also been supplying the Russian military separately for years with armored vehicles such as the “Typhoon-K”, a 20-ton vehicle that can withstand mines and booby-traps. Through its former parent company Mercedes-Benz, Daimler Truck has a de facto stake of 15 percent in the entire Kamaz group.
Public pressure on Daimler Truck and Mercedes is increasing
From the point of view of Marc Tüngler, general manager of the German Association for the Protection of Securities, this is irresponsible. A commitment to a company that manufactures war equipment is out of the question, Tüngler had told the Handelsblatt. Mercedes and Daimler Truck have long been examining how the groups can divest themselves of their stake in Kamaz.
Michael Brecht, head of the works council and vice-chairman of the supervisory board at Daimler Truck, is publicly pushing for an exit. “This would be an important political signal.” Ruslan Furtas from the Ukrainian private equity firm Horizon Capital is also appealing to the companies to resign from all positions at Kamaz and to stop all exports to Russia as long as there is war in Ukraine.
One thing is certain: the invasion of Russian forces into Ukraine shocked the managers at Daimler Truck. “We are dismayed by the military violence in Ukraine, the suffering of the population and are very concerned about peace in Europe,” CEO Martin Daum wrote to his 100,000 employees worldwide on Monday. A few lines later he announced that Daimler Truck would stop all business activities in Russia for the time being. It could be a long break.
More: Daimler Truck stops cooperation with Russian armored car manufacturer Kamaz