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Daimler sees truck sales outpacing passenger cars by 2020

BERLIN, June 27 (Reuters) - Global truck sales may outpace registrations of new passenger cars by the end of the decade, as demand from emerging markets offsets falling deliveries in Europe, German automaker Daimler's trucks chief said.

Truck sales may expand 50 percent by 2020, compared with 40 percent growth in passenger cars in that period, Wolfgang Bernhard, head of Daimler's truck and bus operations, said at a conference on Thursday.

"These are growth rates we currently cannot even dream of in Europe," Bernhard said, noting the debt crisis in Daimler's home region has "significantly" dampened already subdued demand for heavy-duty trucks.

Sales of commercial vehicles weighing 16 metric tons or more in core European markets fell 5.8 percent in April to 18,252 units, extending the year-to-date decline to 13.8 percent. Truck sales data for May will be released by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA) on Friday. (Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)