Followed by the trend of stone laying ceremony, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV), the 100% wholly-owned subsidiary of the world’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler AG, celebrated the foundation stone laying ceremony of its new Bus plant at the DICV’s manufacturing facility located in Oragadam, near Chennai. Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler AG Board member, responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses, laid the foundation stone for the new bus plant in the presence of Mr. Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses and CEO EvoBus GmbH, Mr. Marc Llistosella, Managing Director & CEO, DICV, Mr. Markus Villinger, Head, Daimler Buses, India, a host of Indian and International media, Dealers, Suppliers and DICV personnel.
Dr. Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler AG Board member responsible for Daimler Trucks & Buses, said, “On the basis of our strong truck business, we are now pressing ahead on the Indian bus market. For that purpose, we are consistently using existing suppliers, our production site and our sales network in India.”
The new Bus manufacturing plant is spread across an area of 27.91 acres will be constructed within the existing premises of DICV. The bus plant will manufacture and assemble buses under the Mercedes-Benz and BharatBenz brands and will be completed by 2nd Quarter 2015. The DICV plant in Oragadam will thus be the only Daimler Truck plant worldwide, that manufactures three brands of Trucks and Buses, as well as engines under one roof. Daimler India buses will be offered in 9t, 16t and above 16t categories in both front and rear engine configurations. An investment of INR 425 Cr has been earmarked for the bus project in India for an installed capacity of 1500 units in the initial phase. The capacity can be further expanded to 4000 units subsequently.
Daimler India has partnered with M/s.Wrightbus, a leading global player in bus body building, for its front-engined buses. The state-of-the-art bus body building facility will be part of the new bus plant. The bus body will be superior in terms of technology and reliability meeting Daimler global standards of quality and efficiency.
Mr. Marc Llistosella, Managing Director and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, said, “We, at DICV, are extremely proud and confident about this new beginning. Since inception, we have delivered on all our promises for the Indian market, and we are continuously achieving new milestones. BharatBenz, having already achieved the No.4 position in trucks in India, has now become the preferred brand for most of the truck customers, thanks to its high performance products backed by best-in-class service levels. I am confident that the new bus project will continue to deliver same level of promise and experience to the customer.”
Mr. Markus Villinger, Head, Daimler Buses, India, addressed the gathering and mentioned that the new Bus plant would roll out the first buses by 2nd Quarter 2015. He also mentioned that the Bus division would have a dedicated strength of 300 personnel besides using the synergies of DICV’s existing expertise.
In April 2013, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) consolidated commercial vehicle operations in India by integrating Mercedes-Benz Buses business into its operations. Subsequently, the Marketing, Sales & Service of Mercedes-Benz buses were aligned to the marketing function of DICV in line with Daimler’s global practice to ensure better synergies in business verticals.
The existing and upcoming Dealership network of DICV which caters to the BharatBenz range of trucks will also participate in the Daimler Bus business. The well-established and state-of-the-art dealerships will enhance the confidence of Indian customers. The network will ensure that every Bus customer is treated to an international service experience.