The company has invested Rs. 300 crores on the new plant, which was completed within 13 months from the start of construction – among the fastest green-field projects to be created. With an area of 100 acres of land and independent assembly facilities for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, the infrastructure was created to address future expansion needs, underscoring the long-term growth plans of the company in India.
Mercedes-Benz has a long history of involvement with the country. Its first association in 1954 was a collaboration with Tata Motors for the production of trucks; subsequently it also co-operated with Force Motors in 1969. Mercedes-Benz then was the first luxury carmaker to set up local production on Indian soil in 1995. A year later, the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development unit was established in Bangalore.
Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Chairman of the Board, Mercedes-Benz India, said: “A strong brand, committed employees, strong after-sales service network. A growing market, increasing demand and exciting products: these are the ingredients of Mercedes-Benz’ India story. And it all happens here – at the new home of Mercedes-Benz in India.”
Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, added: “Over the years we have grown – and from the 600 units back in 1999, we sold 3,600 units in 2008, with growth doubling consistently in the last three years. I am convinced that this facility marks the beginning of a new era for the company in India – and today is a red-letter day for us all”.
The new plant has two independent assembly facilities for commercial vehicles and passenger cars. In the commercial vehicle facility, there is a common assembly line for building both truck and bus chassis. Currently the assembly line builds one chassis every day, but as and when there is more demand for the product, production can be increased. At the end of the assembly line, the company has installed head light alignment system, brake testers from Maha and Wheel Alignment Systems from Josam.
Prof. Dr. Eberhard Haller, Director of the Board, Mercedes-Benz India, observed: “As the plant manager of the largest Mercedes-Benz plant in Sindelfingen, Germany, I am impressed by the flexibility and the potential for expansion of this facility. It was created with a long-term perspective in mind, and I am sure that we will see many new products roll off the assembly line – both from the passenger cars and the commercial vehicles segment.”
In the commercial vehicle segment, Mercedes is offering the Actros tippers and a luxury bus. The company has till date sold over 500 Actros tippers since its launch in June 2007. The Actros tippers are currently imported from Germany as CKDs and assembled in India. Except for the batteries (which are from Exide) and in some cases the rear wheel tyres (which are from MRF), most of the other components for the Actros tipper, including the chassis, cabins, powertrain, transmissions and all other components, are being imported directly from Germany. The tipper bodies and hydraulics are sourced from Hyva India. In the truck segment, Mercedes is also looking at launching its products in the high-end tractor-trailer segment.
For the bus, the chassis is being imported from Daimler’s manufacturing facility in Brazil as CKDs and assembled in India. The bus body is being built by Sutlej as per the specifications of Mercedes. The company has so far sold 20 buses till date and is looking at the market for its city buses. Dr. Aulbur said that during the current year Mercedes-Benz India is planning to launch one or two models in the commercial vehicle segment. It could be both in the truck and bus segment.
Asked if there is a market in India for such high end products in India, Dr. Aulbur said: “In emerging markets like India, there will be a market for mass products which will be high volume, low price and parallely there will be a market for the high-end performance-oriented product. This is the segment where Mercedes India is planning to focus on. Volvo sold nearly 240 city buses last year and another 200 buses in the inter-city segment. This market will continue to grow in volumes and Mercedes India sees an opportunity here, says Dr. Aulbur.
Dr. Aulbur was also of the strong view that, BRTs are the way forward for Indian cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Chennai which are drowing in traffic. BRT has made tremendous impact in most cities around the world and India should be able to leverage on the advantages of BRT. “You need multi modal transport to solve the challenges we are facing”, adds Dr. Aulbur.
Apart from Mercedes India, Daimler has signed an independent JV with the Hero Group to manufacture commercial vehicles in India. The new JV, which will set up its manufacturing facility in Chennai will focus on the mass market products in the commercial vehicle segment. The strategy is, Mercedes India will focus on the high end tippers and in the future-the tractor-trailers and Daimler-Hero will focus on the mass market segment. In fact Volvo also seems to be adopting a similar strategy with Volvo India and Volvo-Eicher.
Mercedes-Benz India has also been engagement in socially focused initiatives as well. Jobs in agriculture, eco-friendly mobility and wasteland recovery – these are the three points that the Jatropha bio-diesel project focuses upon. The Mobile Kids Road Safety Program and the Automotive Mechatronics Program focus upon teaching and education to create citizens of a better tomorrow.
The company is also helping disadvantaged children through scholarships and aid to help them continue basic and further education. Its association with NGO Cleft is also extending surgical and medical aid and assistance to disadvantaged families in Gujarat and Maharashtra. On this occasion, Mercedes-Benz India also announced its support towards re-building classrooms and providing assistance towards better facilities for students of a school in Chakan.
The Daimler Group’s procurement organization has also been active since 1998 and is the local partner for Indian entrepreneurs and industries who offer their products and services to the company worldwide.
