Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation and Kamaz
To Establish Joint Venture

Kawasaki – Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) and the Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz will sign an agreement on the creation of a joint venture for the importation, production, and sale of Mitsubishi Fuso trucks in Russia. Kamaz and MFTBC signed a letter of intent already on July 7, 2009 to establish this joint venture. The conclusion of negotiations on the joint venture is planned by late October.

The 50-50 joint venture -- named FUSO KAMAZ Trucks Rus -- will sell trucks as Fuso-brand vehicles in the important Russian market. The trucks will be manufactured at the Kamaz factory in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia, while the joint venture’s sales departments and management will be based in Kazan, Russia.

The basis of the joint venture is a strategic partnership that Daimler Trucks established with Kamaz, Russian Technologies, and the investment bank Troika Dialog in December 2008. In connection with this partnership, Daimler acquired a 10 percent stake in Kamaz.
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks division of Daimler AG.

“The joint venture represents an important step for our Russian truck business and our growth strategy,” says Andreas Renschler, Member of the Daimler AG Board of Management responsible for Daimler Trucks. “The fact that the negotiations in Russia ran so smoothly makes me very confident that the establishment of the joint venture FUSO KAMAZ Trucks Rus will proceed just as rapidly and successfully,” Mr. Renschler added.

The joint venture company will initially manufacture and sell models of the light-duty Fuso Canter truck. The trucks assembled in Russia will steadily increase their local content of parts and components.

“This agreement will allow us to combine the strengths of Kamaz and Fuso. Kamaz is the market leader in Russia and Fuso is one of the leading commercial vehicle manufacturers in Asia. In combination with Fuso’s competitive products, Kamaz’s knowledge of the market and market strength provide us a good and promising starting position,” says Dr. Albert Kirchmann, President and CEO of MFTBC. “I can already announce today that the first Fuso truck will be produced in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia, before the year is over”, Dr. Kirchmann added.

Based in Kawasaki, Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is one of Asia's leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. In 2008, the company sold a total of about 197,700 vehicles including light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses. Daimler AG owns 85% of MFTBC shares. The remaining 15% of shares are held by various Mitsubishi group companies. MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks Division of Daimler AG.