was presented for exceptional performance in the area of innovation. Some 450 guests from the supply industry attended the sixth presentation event at the Mercedes-Benz Centre in Stuttgart on February 27th 2014. Working closely with its direct suppliers, Daimler employs its unique supplier cooperation model, the ‘Daimler Supplier Network’. This is based on the core principles of performance and partnership. Daimler measures performance in terms of quality, cost, delivery reliability and innovative strength. In his opening speech, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz cars, stressed the importance of the Daimler Supplier Awards. “We celebrate a winning team – the world’s best supplier network and we thank our suppliers for their loyalty and dedication” Among this year’s winners of the 2013 Daimler Supplier Awards were Isringhausen Gmbh & Co. KG, in the area of truck seats 36 Industry Europe
and international expansion activities, LTH Castings, honoured as ‘Best new supplier’ for its powertrain aluminium castings, and Durr AG, for its outstanding achievements in plant engineering and machine construction. The special award for innovation went to Continental AG for its innovative touchpad for the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class models. Prof. Dr Thomas Weber commented on this award: “The touchpad of the new C-Class is as easy to operate as a smartphone. It also allows hand-written commands to be entered in many languages and provides clear, tactile feedback - a milestone towards truly intuitive use!” A full list of winners can be found on the Daimler AG’s website: www.daimler.com
Shooting stars Taking centre stage at the New York International Auto Show this year was the latest threepointed-star dream car: the new Mercedes-
Benz S63 AMG Coupe. This luxurious sports car combines supreme power and performance with ground-breaking efficiency. AMG remains in the fast lane throughout the world in the performance car class and has exceeded last year’s sales by more than 50 per cent. Tobias Moers, Chairman of the Board of Management of Mercedes-AMG GmbH said, “The new S63 AMG Coupe is another exciting AMG dream car in the luxury segment. Now the S-Class Coupe also comes with the option of performance-orientated AMG 4Matic all-wheel drive, as we rigorously pursue our all-wheel-drive initiative. Mercedes-AMG is putting the pedal to the floor again in 2014” The new V-Class from Mercedes-Benz is also causing a stir in the growing MPV market. As the youngest and largest member of the passenger car family from Stuttgart, it sets new benchmarks in its segment with its design and host of innovations. The new V-Class combines room for up to eight peo-
