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MOTORINDIA
l
April 2012
and suppliers attended the curtain-raiser.
On the occasion, Mr. Marc Llistosella, CEO
and Managing Director of DICV, said: “Today
is a proud moment for all of us at Daimler as we
present the outcome of our hard work over the
last few years – the first range of BharatBenz
trucks. BharatBenz, as a brand, stands for our
commitment to India. It is the first time ever
that Daimler has dedicated a brand entirely to
one market. Also, with an overall investment of
Rs. 4,400 crores, it is one of the biggest green-
field investments outside Europe Daimler has
ever made.”
DICV plans to embark on a spree of launches
in the next two years when its entire range of
vehicles would hit the roads. The company will
start its market launch in the third quarter of
2012 with the introduction of three models, fol-
lowed by the launch of the entire product port-
folio, consisting of 17 models, over the next 20
months.
Daimler took the first steps in its Indian ven-
ture six years ago, and after years of market
study and research, the vehicles are ready to
roll. Commenting on DICV’s Indian strategy,
Mr. Llistosella said: “We understood that the
Indian market needed a totally different ap-
proach. India is a different challenge and a big
opportunity. We started with speaking to peo-
ple who know the market, interviewing and
listening to customers. The beginning was to
learn, to listen and to understand. Our commit-
ment to India is not for just five to ten years.
We are an Indian company now and we want
to be seen as very competitive in terms of the
complete package of product, service, network
and finance.”
The company is highly optimistic that its
BharatBenz range of trucks, built after exten-
sive market study, would fit perfectly into dif-
BharatBenz premiere (cover story)
“We are an Indian company now and we
want to be seen as very competitive in
terms of the complete package of product,
service, network and finance.”
– Mr. Marc Llistosella
Mr. Marc Llistosella, CEO and Managing Director, DICV