Breakeven achieved in six years of market entry
Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), at its first press interaction with its new Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Satyakam Arya, at the helm, made the important announcement that it has achieved financial breakeven in 2018. The company has reached the breakeven mark in just six years after its market entry, making it the fastest manufacturer to achieve the feat.
In its domestic business, DICV recorded strong growth of 35% in 2018 with sales of 22,532 trucks as compared to 16,717 units sold in 2017. The company achieved an eight per cent growth in exports, shipping out 7,034 trucks in 2018 compared to 6,553 units in the previous year. DICV also crossed two key milestones in 2018 – the roll-out of the 1,00,000th truck from its Oragadam plant and export of its 20,000th truck.
Addressing the media in Chennai, Mr. Arya said: “The year 2018 was the best in the short history of our company and for BharatBenz. Our focus on profitable growth continues to pay off. With more than 22,500 trucks sold last year, we further established India as the fifth largest individual market for Daimler Trucks worldwide, underlining the importance of DICV and BharatBenz for Daimler Trucks.”
The MD & CEO attributed the company’s accelerated growth to the strong BharatBenz product portfolio and the expansion of the company’s sales and service network. DICV has opened 50 new touchpoints in 2018 alone, taking its overall tally to over 180 touchpoints and expanding its reach by having an outlet or service station at every 200 km.
He shared: “We have a very aggressive plan to further expand our network. We have plans of doubling our network in the next 2-3 years, allowing our customers to find a BharatBenz outlet within every 100 km or within two hours.”
Focus areas for 2019
Digitalisation was mentioned to be one of the key areas of focus for DICV in 2019. “We are planning to digitalise the entire customer ecosystem, making every interaction with the customer digitalised. This will take us to a new level of customer management and satisfaction”, Mr. Arya stated.
On the technology front, DICV has been working on the development of BS-VI vehicles for India by taking insights, customer feedback and knowledge from Daimler’s Euro-VI products and building suitable products for the Indian market. “Our full attention is on India’s transition to BS-VI in just over a year, and we are confident to add the next chapter to our success story”, he added.
In addition to gearing up for BS-VI, Mr. Arya also revealed that DICV is in the process of upgrading its entire truck portfolio due to the new axle load norms, with new models and variants to be rolled out aggressively. The first customer vehicle of the new product generation, a 55-ton tractor with best-in-class GVW, was handed over to a customer in Rajasthan last month.
New DICV-KUN touchpoints in Tamil Nadu
DICV, in association with KUN Trucking, has inaugurated a new 3S state-of-the-art BharatBenz dealership at Villupuram and Maraimalainagar which will cater to BharatBenz trucks and buses. The opening of the new network touchpoints, owned and operated by KUN Trucking, reflects the strong growth trajectory of BharatBenz in its home region.
Mr. U. Venkatesh, Managing Director, KUN Trucking, along with Mr. Satyakam Arya, Managing Director & CEO, DICV, and Mr. Rajaram Krishnamurthy, Vice President – Marketing and Sales, DICV, inaugurated the new dealership.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Rajaram Krishnamurthy said: “We are delighted to welcome KUN Trucking in Villupuram and Maraimalainagar. With 16 touchpoints across Tamil Nadu, we now cater to the increasing local customer base in our home region.”
Mr. U. Venkatesh shared: “We are delighted to partner with BharatBenz once again with our new state-of-the-art BharatBenz dealership at Villupuram and in Maraimalainagar. We are fully ready to ensure that our customers experience superior sales and aftersales service with other facilities at our new dealership. At KUN Trucking, it is all about our customers and their business needs. BharatBenz customers can be assured of the best of sales advisory and state-of-the-art ‘Proserv’ aftersales service and spares support.”
In addition to the three touchpoints, a bus service bay and exclusive body shop at Poonamallee and a stockyard at Utkottai Village, Tiruvallur, were also inaugurated.
Daimler Buses India records strong 2018, expects continued growth
Daimler Buses India, part of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), capped off a successful business year 2018. The company’s sales of buses, luxury coaches and chassis grew by more than 70 per cent to 1,555 units as compared to the 906 units it had sold in 2017. Its exports saw an increase of more than 50 per cent to 616 units from 405 units the previous year. For 2019, Daimler Buses India expects to achieve further significant growth, driven both by domestic and exports business.
Mr. Thomas Fricke, Managing Director, Daimler Buses India, said: “2018 was another very successful year for Daimler Buses India. Within three years after our market launch, we have grown to become the fifth-largest individual market for Daimler Buses on the global scale. We remain committed to continue our sustainable growth.”
In 2019, the main focus at Daimler Buses India will be on the preparations to upgrade its entire portfolio to the BS-VI standard, including BharatBenz 9-tonne buses in the school, staff and tourist bus sub segments, Mercedes-Benz 15 m multi-axle luxury coaches and bus chassis for the 9, 16 and 24-tonne segments.
“BS-VI is an excellent opportunity for us to further lead the shift in India’s bus market towards global standards. Our aim is clear: we want to offer the best BS-VI product package available in the Indian market”, Mr. Fricke added.
Exports of Daimler Buses India, which include bus chassis for the 9 and 16-tonne segments, have reached a cumulative volume of more than 1,200 units already since the start of the business. Today, 13 markets in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and South East Asia are being served with bus chassis made by Daimler Buses in India, with further export projects with additional growth potentials underway.