Merc eyes heavy duty truck segment

Mercedes-Benz India today sounded bullish about the growth of the heavy duty truck segment in India and said it plans to sell 240 units of the product this year.

The company had sold 240 units of heavy duty trucks in 2008, Mercedes-Benz managing director Wilfried Aulbur told reporters, adding, "This year, we plan to do the same".

He said the size of the heavy duty truck segment was 1200 units to 1400 units per annum, adding that it was expected to grow at 20 per cent.

The company launched the Actros 4841K heavy duty truck in Kolkata today.

Aulbur said globally, Merc has a 15 per cent market share in the heavy duty truck segment, which comprised mainly of tippers used in the mining and construction sectors.

The company had set up an assembly line at Pune to manufacture 1200 units of trucks/buses per shift.

Parent company Daimler was also setting up a commercial vehicle manufacturing plant at Chennai.