FRANKFURT – German automaker Daimler will split itself into two independent companies by spinning off its truck and bus division, a move the company said would give both the freedom to operate more nimbly in a fast-changing environment focussed on zero-emission vehicles and software.
The Stuttgart-headquartered company said Wednesday that a significant majority stake in the truck business would be distributed to current shareholders, and that Daimler would “at the appropriate time” be renamed Mercedes-Benz, the brand name under which it sells luxury cars.
CEO Ola Kallenius said the decision was made because the businesses of making luxury cars and heavy trucks and buses “have very different structures.” He said that two companies each