Daimler rolls out first set of Bharat Benz trucks in India

Moneycontrol Bureau

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles has finally commercially launched the first set of Bharat Benz trucks in the country, a move that is expected to shake up the commercial vehicle market, dominated by Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. Daimler is the world's largest largest truck maker and is leaving no stone unturned to replicate the same success in India. On Wednesday, it launched three heavy duty trucks, two (2523R and 3123R) in the haulage segment and one (2523C) in the construction segment. Daimler says the trucks offer much better fuel efficiency than rivals, and will offer lowest total cost of ownership (TCO). The 2523 has been priced in Rs 15.7-17.2 lakh range, the 3123 will cost Rs 18.7-20.2 lakh. The company has plans to launch 14 more models over next 17 months in the 7-49 tonne range. It has selected 28 dealers, who will be spread across 108 locations. 20 locations are operational right now, which will go up to 40-45 by year end and by the end of 2013, there will be 108 locations.  The company says its sales and service centres will be class apart as they will even offer bunk beds and pantry for the truck drivers to relax enroute the journey. The trucks, based on the Mercedes-Benz Axor platform, have 85% localisation, which will go up to 90% soon, according to Erich Nesselhauf, vice president - procurement and supply chain management. Daimler also sent some of its suppliers, many of them new to making truck parts, to train abroad to ensure they met quality standards, he said. That apart, since majority of trucks are bought in India on loan, the company has set up its own captive financial services company, which will provide finance assistance. It has also tied up with HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Sundaram Finance and Kotak Mahindra Bank for finance options for truck buyers. The trucks themselves will be loaded with technology and Daimler says they have been made specially taking into account Indian road and driving conditions. Marc Llistosella, CEO and MD of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles said production of the heavy trucks started in June and light and medium truck will start rolling out from its plant near Chennai from next month. The booking and delivery of Bharat Benz's heavy trucks has now begun and Llistosella is confident that it will drive a change in the Indian market with a new product experience, new sales experience and new service experience for customers. However, optimistic he may be, the ride is not going to be as smooth, at least for now for the global giant. Indian truck market has long been a duopoly -- Tata Motors sells 60% of the total trucks sold in the country and Ashok Leyland has around 20% market share. Then there are other players like Mahindra in partnership with US-based Navistar, Volvo, in partnership with Eicher and homegrown Asia Motor Works (AMW), among others, who are also eyeing a share of the market. Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland too have been developing new generation products anticipating this very competition. Tata Motors has been selling the Prima range of world trucks, developed with its South Korean subsidiary Daewoo. Last week, it launched six new heavy trucks in the Prima range. The India's top CV maker also claims its new trucks offer best in class fuel efficiency and lowest TCO. Ashok Leyland too has launched new U-truck range and roped in Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni for advertising. It has also developed a new range of Neptune branded engines for its trucks. Nachiket Kelkar
nachiket.kelkar@network18online.com