BharatBenz revealed its Heavy Duty Truck range at the 2012 Auto Expo in Delhi. Dailmer India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd (DICV), the Indian subsidiary of the German truck maker Daimler AG unveiled a range of trucks under the BharatBenz brand.
The CEO and managing director of DICV, Marc Llistosella was reported saying that 17 models will be launched in the market over period of 20 months, with three model ranges coming up in the third quarter of 2012.
“It is the first time ever that Daimler has decided a brand entirely for one market,” he said promising that BharatBenz offers value for money trucks that deliver the best in class performance, reliability and fuel efficiency.
BharatBenz is bringing models ranging fromLight Duty Trucks (LDT) & Heavy Duty Trucks (HDT) in the 9, 12, 25, 31 and 49 tonnes category, featuring various usages and applications. The LDT, based on the Fuso Canter platform, features a four-cylinder engine in two variants of 142PS and 177PS. The HDT, based on the Mercedes-Benz Axor platform, features a six-cylinder engine in two variants of 234PS and 283PS. Trucks were showcased at the six-day Hyderabad International Trade Exhibition (HITEX), where financers, dealers and potential customers could get a glimpse of highlighted eight truck models.
Production facility investing an amount of Rs 4,400 crore has been set up at Orgadam plant near Chennai. It is one of the biggest investments of Daimler outside Europe. India market is in perfect conditions for the launch of trucks and the plant is equipped with simulators for testing the heavy, medium and light duty trucks on the similar road conditions.
Marc announced the company’s plan to double their capacity in the near future with an increased share in market within next six months. The Orgadam plant has a capacity of 36,000 trucks, for all ranges of trucks.
“The numbers are incidental. We want to be the number one choice of customers,” V.R.V Sriprasad, vice president, marketing, Daimler India.
Moreover, the trucks manufactured in India will be exported to foreign market starting next year. However, the officials did not disclose the number of units that will be exported or the markets that they will be exported to.
Marc said the trucks were designed with German engineering but trimmed for Indian competitive prices. The cost will be in single digit while giving fuel efficiency in double digits. “The customer will start making money in the first six months,” he added.
Daimler plans to expand its dealership network in India to 70 in the first phase and increase up to 104 locations with pan-India.