Daimler plant near Chennai reaches 90% localisation

Daimler has invested Rs 4,400 crore and has 2,500 employees at its Oragdam facility

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV)’s plant at Oragadam near Chennai has reached 90 per cent localisation to support domestic supplier base.

“We ensure BharatBenz products rollout with at least 85 per cent localisation with about 4,000 different parts sourced in India. Several of our trucks have been localised well above 90 per cent,” said a Daimler spokesperson, adding that DICV has localised 45 per cent of the parts within a radius of 300 km from the assembly plant in Oragadam.  Amitabh Kant, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, said that Daimler is a “great example of Make in India for the world”. In his twitter account he said: “Daimler has invested 4,400 cr, has 2500 employees in TN & aims 2 make India a low cost export hub 4 it’s trucks. German investment at its best!”

DICV, a 100 per cent wholly-owned subsidiary of German auto major Daimler AG, currently caters to 11 markets from India, under the umbrella of Daimler Trucks Asia, DICV and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC).

While DICV focuses on the Indian market as well as Nepal, MFTBC aims to service the rising demand in the Asian and African regions. On Tuesday, DICV said that the sales of its BharatBenz trucks has surpassed 20,000 units since its market launch in September 2012. DICV said the trucks’ sales have registered a growth of 72 per cent in the first two months of 2015 compared to the same period last year. BharatBenz trucks’ portfolio ranges from nine to 49 tonnes.

Earlier, Sreeram V, vice-president - domestic sales, product management and network at DICV, has said that BharatBenz was gaining momentum in the Indian market.

“This reflects our robust product portfolio offers the lowest total-cost-of-ownership for the Indian customer, better fuel advantage, efficiency and performance.”

He added the company has 81 dealerships covering 85 per cent of the Indian market.

The Oragadam plant includes a modern test track designed to simulate Indian conditions, making it one of its kind in Asia.

The company also said its new bus facility would go onstream by the second quarter. This will be the first Daimler plant worldwide to produce trucks, buses, and engines for a total of three brands.

Meanwhile, the company has started exporting bus chassis from India.