DICV to raise commercial vehicle output from Chennai plant

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) today said it is increasing output from its Oragadam facility near Chennai with the addition of a second shift in order to meet increasing domestic and export demands.
The company, which marked the fifth anniversary of the market launch of its BharatBenz trucks, has sold than 55,000 trucks across India.
"We continue on our sustainable growth track with BharatBenz. Customer demand has been particularly strong in the 16-49 tonnes segment...We have thus taken the next step and moved to two-shift operations at our manufacturing plant," DICV Managing Director and CEO Erich Nesselhauf said in a statement.

He said the company has been able to further extend its position as "the clear number three" in heavy-duty trucks.
The increase in output will also cater to expected further growth in DICV's export business, in which the company has sold more than 10,000 trucks since 2013 and will serve 40 markets by the end of the year, the statement said.
The company, however, did not disclose by how much the output will increase citing competitive reasons.

"Our installed production capacity at DICV's truck plant is up to 72,000 units per annum depending on the shift model," a company spokesperson said.

DICV said for the first time BharatBenz has progressed into double-digit market share in recent months ob the back of a strong momentum gained with the BS-IV transition.
In the current year 2017, DICV expects to achieve significant growth with BharatBenz, it said.
Commenting on the brand completing five years in India, Marc Llistosella, Head of Daimler Trucks Asia, said: "Our strategic aim was to give Daimler Trucks a strong footprint in India with its immense growth potentials. In just five years, we have firmly established BharatBenz as an aspirational brand in the world's toughest commercial vehicle market."
BharatBenz trucks are sold and serviced through over 130 touchpoints across India, including tier-2 and tier-3 cities.