BharatBenz trucks to roll out in 2012 third quarter
The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms. J. Jayalalithaa, inaugurated the new state-of-the-art production plant of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler AG at Oragadam, near Chennai on April 18. The plant covering an area of 400 acres is equipped with a modern integrated R&D development center and a state-of-the-art test track. This is one of only three Daimler truck plants worldwide to combine truck assembly and components production at one location.
The total investment of DICV is Rs. 4,400 crores, including the manufacturing facility for BharatBenz brand trucks as well as research and development. Commencement of production of the BharatBenz heavy-duty trucks is scheduled for the third quarter of 2012.
Another highlight of the day was the flagging off of the BharatBenz Power Yatra by Mr. Andreas Renschler, Daimler Board of Management member responsible for Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses, together with Mr. Marc Llistosella, CEO and MD of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), in the presence of Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, and other top executives of Daimler AG.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, explained: “Our new Oragadam-Chennai plant shares Daimler’s stringent quality standards with its sister plants around the world and is unique at the same time. It is the only Daimler plant in the world that houses products which combine Indian engineering with German and Japanese DNA under a single roof. This way, we are optimally positioning ourselves for one of the world’s strongest and fastest-growing truck markets.”
The Oragadam plant will produce the versatile BharatBenz product range for the Indian volume market. While the HDT range of trucks is based on the Mercedes-Benz Axor platform, the LDT trucks are built on the Fuso Canter series. The plant has an initial production capacity of 36,000 units per year, of which 24,000 are heavy-duty trucks and 12,000 would be light-duty trucks, and is designed to allow an increase up to more than 70,000 units per year. Mr. Andreas Renschler, Daimler Board of Management member responsible for Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses, emphasized at the plant inauguration in India, “DICV is an outstanding example of Daimler Trucks’ Global Excellence strategy. Our worldwide production network and our global research and development efforts enable us to develop, manufacture, and sell trucks in India, for India. We do all of this in close proximity to our customers, for our customers.”
State-of-the-art plant
The Oragadam plant is state-of-the-art and has been built with meticulous planning. The plant has four major shops, including the Cab in White (CIW) where the cab is made, the paint shop, the engine and transmission shop and the vehicle assembly shop where the final assembly of the trucks is done. Daimler has brought in its global expertise into the Oragadam plant as seen from the flexible manufacturing system, high level of automation and impressive assembly line. The assembly shop is 435 m long, perhaps the longest in the country, while it also boasts of the single longest conveyer which is 290 m long. The quality standards of Daimler have been uncompromisingly met with a quality gate at the end of each line. The plant is equipped with the latest and advanced machinery to ensure smooth and perfect functioning for the long-term.
17 products to hit roads by 2014
BharatBenz trucks are robust and reliable vehicles for the modern domestic segment, which illustrates the consistently increasing demands of the Indian customers. This segment currently accounts for four per cent of all trucks in India, but this figure is expected to rise to almost 80 per cent by 2020. With a product portfolio of 17 BharatBenz commercial vehicles by 2014, DICV is preparing for the promising Indian truck market, which has developed into the world’s third largest market with a volume of more than 330,000 vehicles in the weight classes of 5 to 49 tonnes in 2011. To benefit from India’s market potential in the commercial vehicle segment, the plant was built for the future local production of BharatBenz trucks.
At the celebratory inauguration, Marc Llistosella, CEO and Managing Director of DICV, declared: “Filled with pride and joy, I dedicate today’s plant opening to the employees of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles. Our work-force is primarily Indian and has steadily increased to include more than 1,400 employees today.” Llistosella added, “Our focus on localization has resulted in more than 40 per cent of our suppliers being located within a 40-kilometer radius of the plant. Overall our BharatBenz trucks will have a localization rate of 85 per cent in India.”
DICV co-operates with over 450 suppliers, who were selected after stringent quality and due diligence tests. In cooperation with local car and commercial vehicle dealers, DICV has built up a nationwide retail network that will encompass around 70 locations by the end of 2012. The retail network will be expanded to more than 100 dealerships by 2014. The Daimler subsidiary Daimler Financial Services will offer financing and insurance products for dealers and customers in support of BharatBenz vehicle sales.
Power Yatra
The BharatBenz Power Yatra convoy comprising the best of BharatBenz trucks – LDT & HDT – will cover over 7,000 kms in over two months across different terrains and road conditions to showcase reliability and durability to potential customers across the country. Dr. Zetsche, Mr. Renschler, Mr. Llistosella and other top-executives personally drove the trucks to the flag-off station and handed over the keys to the drivers of the BharatBenz Power Yatra.
Mr. Renschler said: “The BharatBenz range of trucks are made in India and made for India. Now they are about to take their first drive around India. After all, trucking companies and truck drivers are hands-on people. When it comes to trucks, they would prefer you show them, rather than tell them. This rolling showroom of BharatBenz trucks will spend the next two months driving over 7,000 kilometer lap around a large part of India. We want people in the transportation business and truckers to see and feel how BharatBenz delivers on its promise to meet the unique needs of Indian customers, and that it does so by providing a balance of reliability and efficiency – in an affordable package”.