Daimler India Commercial Vehicles records strong growth in revenue, sales in 2022

Commenting on DICV’s 2022 annual performance, Satyakam Arya– Managing Director & CEO of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles said, “CY2022was one of our strongest performing years with 37% growth in revenue and 25% growth in sales. We crossed remarkable production milestones as well. We achieved this delightful business success, in just 10 years of our operations in India, having made significant investments in the market since the beginning and steered our way through the complexities the commercial vehicles industry had to tackle in last decade. Our strong financial and sales performance is in spite of the pandemic heavily affecting the commercial vehicle sales in last three years. We achieved this performance by consistently improving our cost and revenue position. In addition, we made significant investments in expanding our product portfolio and launched 10 new models of BharatBenz trucks to offer customers a comprehensive portfolio of tonnage options to select from. We are continuing to work diligently on transforming the way we will be doing business in India by investing on Digitalization, Servitization, Sustainability, Diversity and Inclusion as the cornerstones of our strategy going forward. We have expanded our R&D operations, have a sharper focus on Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, upskilling and reskilling our workforce, and many such initiatives to meet our vision in the mobility space for the near and medium term.”

BharatBenz excellence

In the last decade, DICV has made its prominence felt in the construction and mining space where BharatBenz heavy-duty trucks dominate the segment. Earlier this year, BharatBenz unveiled a comprehensive portfolio of high-powered heavy-duty trucks, such as 3532CM mining tipper, 2832CM mining tipper, 5532 tip-trailer, options ranging from 6x4 and 10x4, especially for construction and mining utility. BharatBenz offers a wide range of tipper products starting from 6-wheeler 13T medium duty trucks to 22-wheeler 55T trucks (tip trailers). These trucks are used in extensive applications including surface construction, mining, irrigation/tunneling and intra-city distribution. BharatBenz’s new generation products are transforming the RMC (ready mix cement) application with engine-driven PTO solutions suiting every concreting requirement.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

With an eye on the future, DICV has started focused initiatives around Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) to bring in a more cohesive work culture by helping people revitalize their socio-professional values to help them prepare for a challenging but exciting future. The company has stepped up its Learning & Development initiatives to strengthen the capabilities of its employees so that the learnings can be channeled back into the growth of the organization in the next decade.

Satyakam Arya added, “DICV recognises the importance and contribution of people towards the growth of the organization. Manufacturing is a people-intensive industry. The nuance, dedication and passion that a human can bring to the system is really incomparable but does complement the technological advancements that are benefiting businesses. I believe that people will play a significant role in moving the needle to achieve the next paradigm in a world that is heavily dependent on technology and digitalization. So, we recognize our responsibility as leaders to help prepare our people for what they will face in the future.”

Environment, Social & Governance

In the framework of its sustainable business strategy with focus on ESG (Environment, Social & Governance) DICV is working strenuously towards becoming CO2neutral in its operations by 2025. The company’s 430-acre manufacturing facility in Oragadam has 85% of its operations already using renewable energy, among others generated by an in-house 3.3MW photovoltaic plant. The facility is 90% water self-reliant and has an expansive green cover from its Miyawaki forest.

Mobility & Innovation

In 2022, DICV had partnered with IIT Madras Research Park to identify solutions and incubate new ideas to help the company have a formidable presence in the mobility space. DICV is in the process of incubating more start-up companies in 2023 to take its transformational initiatives further.

DICV manufactures four truck brands in its Oragadam facility, near Chennai – BharatBenz (domestic brand), Mercedes-Benz, Freightliner and Mitsubishi Fuso. Top quality transmissions manufactured in Oragadam are used in BharatBenz trucks and are exported to Europe. DICV has more than 300 BharatBenz sales and service across India and a strong supplier base of over 400 partners. The brand's dealerships and service stations are located across India covering national highways on the Golden Quadrilateral North-South and East-West Corridors, within a two-hour reach of customers. BharatBenz has the reputation of manufacturing the safest trucks in the Indian commercial vehicle industry as their trucks are produced with the safest crash-tested cabins in India.