Daimler to roll out Mercedes-Benz, BharatBenz buses

German automobile major Daimler AG will roll out buses out of its 1,500 unit per annum new factory here which is expected to be ready by 2015, the company said Thursday.

"We are now pressing ahead on the Indian bus market," Wolfgang Bernhard, a board member in Daimler AG and responsible for Daimler trucks and buses, told reporters here.

The company laid down the foundation stone for the bus plant here where it already has a running plant rolling out trucks.

Daimler plans to invest around Rs.425 crore in the bus plant to roll out Mercedes-Benz and BharatBenz branded vehicles.

The Mercedes-Benz brand will be for luxury and inter-city segment and the BharatBenz for volume segments.

According to Markus Villinger, head of Daimler Buses India, the Indian bus market last year was around 4,000 units - almost double the European market.

The new plant complex will also house the bus body building unit.

The buses will be sold through the existing dealer network selling the BharatBenz trucks.