Every brand of semi-truck is owned by Daimler – Jalopnik

Daimler is a name that many recognize as a powerhouse in automotive manufacturing. It has been associated with some of the world’s best-known car brands, including Mercedes-Benz (Daimler-Benz) and Chrysler (DaimlerChrysler), before eventually being renamed Daimler AG from 2007 to 2022, when it was renamed Mercedes-Benz Group. This followed the decision to spin off Mercedes-Benz’s luxury car unit from truck manufacturing division Daimler Truck, which was established in 2019 as a subsidiary of Daimler AG.

Despite being a relatively young company in its current form, Daimler Truck controls several brands that together make it one of the largest manufacturers of heavy-duty vehicles. But not every Daimler-owned brand is involved in semi-truck production. Setra, for example, is a bus manufacturer known for models such as the ComfortClass S 407 and Setra S 515 HD. The same goes for Thomas Built Buses, which, as the name suggests, produces models such as the Thomas Minotour school bus. And while brands like Rizon specialize in truck production, the company only makes Class 4 and Class 5 medium-duty electric trucks. With that in mind, here are the Daimler brands that actually produce Class 8 trucks.

Freightliner is the largest semi-truck manufacturer in the U.S. and had a 33.4% market share as of October 2025, according to data from Transportation topics. But success did not just happen. Based in Portland, Oregon, Freightliner began as the truck manufacturing division of Consolidated Freightways (CF). The company was the brainchild of then-CF President Leland James, who wanted to build an aluminum cab-over-engine truck because he believed that using aluminum instead of traditional steel would reduce weight and allow drivers to better handle climbs when going up a steep hill.

The company was known as Freightways Manufacturing when it was founded in 1940, but was renamed Freightliner Corporation in 1942, the same year it gave us the industry’s first all-aluminum cabin, the Model 600. Like many automakers at the time, however, the company focused on making marine and aircraft parts in support of the World War II effort. After the war, Freightliner moved truck production from Salt Lake City, Utah, to a new production facility in Portland, Oregon, where it began building factory-order trucks based on customer specifications. However, it wasn’t until 1950 that Freightliner sold its first vehicle outside of Consolidated Freightways to Portland-based forklift manufacturer Hyster Company.

Freightliner enjoyed further success due to increasing demand and remained a CF brand until 1981, when it was purchased by Daimler-Benz AG. With Daimler’s support, Freightliner was able to find new customers and increase sales of its vehicles over the next decade, becoming the top-selling heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America by 1992. Over the years, it also acquired several brands, including the heavy-duty truck division of Ford Motor Company, which it renamed Sterling Trucks – one of several businesses Ford has sold over the years.

After World War I, Gottlieb Daimler’s Daimler Motoren-Gesellschaft (also known as DMG) and Carl Benz’s Benz & Cie. experienced financial difficulties due to post-war economic changes. And so the two companies decided to work together, starting as a joint venture in 1924 and formally merging in 1926 to take full advantage of the economies of scale. This decision resulted in the creation of Daimler-Benz AG, which marketed its vehicles under the name Mercedes-Benz.

True to the purpose for which it was founded, Mercedes-Benz has since become a popular brand. Today, the truck manufacturing branch is among the leading brands in Europe, thanks to perennial favorites such as the Mercedes-Benz Actros series, known for their combination of driving comfort and fuel efficiency. In addition to combustion engine models, Mercedes-Benz Trucks also offers electric trucks, such as the ambitious, fully electric Mercedes-Benz eActros 600, which even set a record for reversing.

Mercedes-Benz Trucks also serves markets in Asia, Africa, South America and the Middle East, where it offers light, medium and heavy-duty trucks. The car giant equips these vehicles with its own powertrains, which it makes at various production sites in Germany and Brazil.

In 2008, Daimler partnered with Indian firm Hero Group to create a new joint venture – 60% owned by Daimler – dedicated to building medium and heavy commercial vehicles for the Indian market. However, the following year, both companies were forced to backtrack on plans for the Daimler Hero Commercial Vehicles (DHCV) joint venture due to the economic crisis in India. Hero Group left the alliance a year later in 2009, bringing an end to DHCV.

Daimler AG continued with its plans anyway and launched Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) as its Indian subsidiary, establishing BharatBenz in 2012. The same year, BharatBenz’s first heavy, medium and light trucks were launched. BharatBenz trucks are manufactured at the DICV plant at Oragadam near Chennai in Tamil Nadu. In just over a decade, the plant has produced more than 200,000 vehicles for the domestic market, while a further 73,000 units have been shipped abroad.

When Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Company (MFTBC) was spun off into its own entity in 2003, DaimlerChrysler AG was already involved with the Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC). The German automotive group had purchased a significant 34% stake in Mitsubishi Motor Corp (valued at 2.1 billion) in March 2000 in a bid to expand its presence in the Japanese and East Asian markets. So when the opportunity arose to gain even more of a foothold, DaimlerChrysler did not hesitate to spend another $767.7 million for a 43% stake in MFTBC, with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and other Mitsubishi Group companies retaining an ownership stake of 42 and 15% respectively.

In January 2004, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. voted. agreed to sell 22% of its shares in MFTBC to DaimlerChrysler AG in a deal worth $489.4 million. That gave the German giant a larger stake of 65%, which was further increased to 85% in February, when it received a further 20% in compensation for financial damage caused by quality problems and the cover-up of defects at Mitsubishi Fuso. In 2011, Daimler increased its stake in MFTBC to 89.29% through a €271 million investment, leaving Mitsubishi Group Companies with just 10.71%. In 2017, Mitsubishi Fuso had introduced some interesting vehicles, including the all-new Mitsubishi Super Great.

Now MFTBC is looking to move even further into the trucking stratosphere as it prepares to merge with Toyota’s truck subsidiary Hino in 2026 to form a new holding company, Archion. Operations are expected to commence in April 2026, although Fuso and Hino will continue to operate as two separate companies.

Western Star was one of the companies acquired by Daimler through Freightliner and, as a result of that acquisition, is now owned by Daimler Truck North America. The $670 million investment gave DaimlerChrysler ownership of several properties, including Western Star’s headquarters and truck manufacturing plant in Kelowna, British Columbia, along with a 40,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in North Charleston, South Carolina. Ontario Bus Industries – and its bus manufacturing sites in Mississauga, Ontario and Oriskany, New York – were also part of the deal.

Western Star has since moved production to Portland, Oregon. It currently offers premium Class 8 trucks for special transport and long-distance transport. This includes models such as the Western Star 47X and 49X for vocational applications, as well as on-highway trucks such as the Western Star 57X. However, Western Star’s niche focus means it does not produce as many vehicles as some of its competitors. Western Star’s revenue remains well below that of larger rivals such as Freightliner and Kenworth.