Daimler Oz hires US truck legend

A truck industry legend from the US has been recruited to advise Daimler Truck & Bus Australia on best dealership practice methods.

Dan Stevens is a just-retired Daimler Trucks dealer principal with over 40 years of experience, including 14 years as president and chief operating officer of three major Daimler Trucks North America dealership groups.

The last group he led featured 25 Freightliner dealerships employing 1100 people and delivering around 7000 new and used vehicles per year.

Stevens will travel to Australia regularly and visit individual dealerships, run coaching sessions, implement continuous improvement plans, provide consulting services and provide feedback to senior management.

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Daimler Truck & Bus president and CEO, Daniel Whitehead, says Stevens will be a great asset.

"Dan has been a remarkably successful dealer for the best-selling truck brand in one of the largest heavy-duty markets in the world, so he has a vast amount of knowledge to share," Whitehead said.

Daimler Truck & Bus aftersales and network development director, Greg Lovrich, says Stevens has already made an impression on Australian dealers.

"We brought Dan out to Australia to speak at a sales conference a few years ago," Lovrich said.

"He was so impressive and our dealers told us his presentation was extremely valuable, so when we had to chance to bring Dan on as an advisor and mentor, we jumped at the opportunity."

Mr Stevens says he is looking forward to spending more time with Australian dealers.

"The timing couldn't be better to engage with the Australian Daimler dealer network," he said.

"Mercedes-Benz already offers the best cab-over product in the market and the release of new Freightliner and Fuso models in the next year will mean Daimler products are unsurpassed no matter what work they need to perform."