Daimler AG to roll out BharatBenz trucks by Q3 2012

New Delhi, Jan 4 (PTI) Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) is set to roll out its new range of trucks under 'BharatBenz' brand from the third quarter of this calender year, and also plans to start exporting them by year-end. DICV, which is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Germany's Daimler AG, is also considering manufacturing buses in India. "The full range showcase of the new BharatBenz trucks will happen in March and production (at the plant near Chennai in southern India) starts in April. The market launch will happen in third quarter of the current year," DICV Managing Director and CEO Marc Llistosella told reporters here today. When asked if the BharatBenz trucks would be exported, Llistosella replied in affirmative but did not provide details. He however hinted that potential export markets could be Africa, the Middle-East and the South-East Asia. In February, 2011, DICV had unveiled the new BharatBenz brand specially designed for India. The company has set up a 400 acres production plant at Oragadam near Chennai and is investing Rupees 44.0 billion (about USDF 850 million) in manufacturing, R&D, marketing and sales, and setting up dealership network. On the company's plan to manufacture buses in India he said: "It is a strategic discussion that is currently going on. Bus market in India has huge potential .... Development work has already started in Europe". For truck manufacturing at Chennai, DICV is relying heavily on local sourcing of components. "We would start with around 85 per cent localisation and we have a target of exceeding 90 per cent. 41 per cent of our suppliers are based in Tamil Nadu and 44 per cent are in rest of the country," Llistosella said. The company is also sourcing from Indian suppliers for its global trucks' production. "Daimler's total sourcing only for trucks is close to 15 billion euros. We have already started sourcing from India for our international operations," Llistosella said. DICV has finalised 70 locations for setting up exclusive retail outlets for selling the new trucks and plans to set up 110 showrooms by the end of this year. According to Llistosella, the total truck market in India (in 6-49 tonnes range) is estimated to be around 340,000 units and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 5 per cent till 2020. DICV also handles marketing and sales of Mercedes-Benz Actros trucks in India. "After the disengagement of our JV with Hero in 2009, we had to stand on our own feet and the whole business plan was worked out. Since then every thing is going as planned," Llistosella added. PTI Caption for pic: CEO and Managing Director Marc Llistosella launching the first Mercedes-Benz truck (Made in India) in New Delhi on Wednesday. PTI Photo