Daimler readies phase-II for India

To launch series of trucks in 2015, foray in to the bus segment

Tucked in an industrial corridor of Tamil Nadu, the buzzing truck and bus manufacturing factory of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) is readying the next chapter of its India story.

Having broken into the list of India’s top three heavy duty truck manufacturers just three years after starting production and sales operations here, DICV is eager to launch its next series of trucks, even as it prepares to make a foray into the bus segment.

DICV, which does not share sales data with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers unlike its competition, claims to have a market share of seven per cent in the 9-49 tonne category. The company says it has 16,000 trucks running on Indian roads.

Erich Nesselhauf, managing director & chief executive officer of Daimler India Commerical Vehicles, said that despite the unfavourable market conditions, the company managed to grab market share. “The reason behind this is because we have added new products and new dealers.”

After a gradual expansion of dealerships across the south and west of the country, the company is targeting the north. On the product front, Daimler will unveil a new heavy duty truck next year and also announce its entry into the bus segment.

The company, which sells its products under the Bharat Benz brand, will cater to the city bus segment while its elder sibling Mercedes-Benz will continue in the luxury inter-city segment. A new Rs 425 crore bus plant, built within the premises of the truck making plant, will commence operations in the second quarter of next year.

Buses will be offered in the nine tonne and above categories having front and rear engine configurations. The plant has an installed capacity of 1,500 units per annum in the first phase and can be expanded to 4,000 units per annum.

The company says it has doubled its volumes in the past two years and aims to double it again next year. In the medium term, it targets to triple its market share to 20 per cent. It wants to fully utilise its initial installed capacity of 36,000 in two years.

“There are bigger plans ahead,” adds Nesselhauf.