The world commercial vehicles market isn't out of the woods yet, despite encouraging signs from the US, argues Andreas Renschler, Daimler AG board member and boss of the Daimler-Benz commercial vehicle division.
Speaking to journalists at last week's CV Safety Symposium, which was held at the manufacturer's home city of Stuttgart, Renschler insists: "The party is over. Not even in my wildest dreams, or worst nightmares, could we have foreseen that the truck market could go so low."
However, he adds: "The pendulum is swinging back. And some people have already decided the crisis is over. The truth is that it's probably somewhere in the middle. But the CV sector has reached the bottom."
Renschler reports that the global CV giant is still posting a positive cash flow, despite the slump. He continues: "We also see some relief 
in the market with our order intake stabilising and there's a glimmer of hope in the US.
"Does this mean the recession is over? Absolutely not. But we'll keep doing everything we can to prepare for the upturn by having the right products at the right time."
Having seen production levels cut by half, Renschler confirms: "We've been busy streamlining our business. We know the market has its ups and downs, and we prepared our business for tough times even before the tough times arrived. We're still competitive and, against the competition, we've increased our market share in every month this year.
"Customers are looking for brands they can trust. We won't compromise on the two main pillars of our business - fuel efficiency and safety."