Daimler AG (DDAIF) has recently entered into an agreement with the Munich, Germany-based industrial gases producer Linde AG (LNAGF) with an objective of building 20 hydrogen fuel stations in a number of cities in Germany. The prime motive of the deal is to promote the use of hydrogen fuel in automobiles.
According to the agreement, 20 hydrogen fuel stations will come up in major German cities including Berlin, Hamburg and Stuttgart over the next three years, for an estimated cost of $14 million. These stations will add to the 7 existing hydrogen plants in Germany and enable further public accessibility to hydrogen stations.
Daimler is highly optimistic regarding hydrogen fuel enabled automobiles as they are more efficient than the battery-powered cars both in terms of both traveling and refueling. Daimler has invested almost $1.4 billion in fuel-cell technology for vehicles, including B-Class compact cars. These compact cars use hydrogen to generate electricity from the chemical reaction that creates water. Daimler even intends to start large-scale production of Mercedes-Benz fuel-cell cars in 2014.
Headquartered in Stuttgart, Daimler AG develops, manufactures, and distributes passenger cars and off-road vehicles, trucks, vans, and buses across the globe. It operates through five segments namely, Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Daimler Buses and Daimler Financial Services. The company also sells spare parts and accessories.
In the first quarter of 2011, Daimler realized a net profit of $1.65 billion that was almost doubled from the year-ago level. The improvement was driven by increased unit sales across each of the Daimler Group’s divisions, including Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks and Mercedes-Benz Vans, despite adverse effects from the natural disaster in Japan. Revenues increased 15% year over year to $34.6 billion, excluding the exchange-rate effects. Daimler holds a Zacks#2 Rank, which implies a short-term “Buy” rating.
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