Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt.
Ltd. (DICV), the 100pc wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler AG, seems to be defying the gloom in the Indian
commercial vehicle market . The company in a press
statement has noted that it
has crossed the sale of its 10,000th truck, since its market launch.
This achievement of sales of 10,000 trucks was done in 18 months.
DICV launched its heavy-duty trucks
in September 2012 and followed it by the launch of its medium-duty range in
February 2013. In January 2014, it launched its tractor and construction mining
models, covering the entire range of trucks in the medium and heavy duty
segments. DICV has gained a substantial market share in the Southern region and
has been registering a steady growth in other markets of West, North and
Central.
The company also sold 1,000 units in
a month, for the first time in March 2014. Sale of BharatBenz trucks grew over 67pc
in the 1st quarter of 2014 (2,203 units) as compared to the same
period in 2013 (1,316 units) with a significant market share of 5.3pc in addressable
markets above 9T segment, while the overall truck market >6T decreased by
another 22pc in the same period.
Marc Llistosella, Managing Director
and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), said, “The year 2014 began
well for us and it underlines some key developments in the company. The sale of
the 10,000th truck is a remarkable achievement for us, given the
fact that we have made it in just 18 months of operations in the country. Another
notable aspect is that these trucks were sold with transparent pricing without
any discount. This is a clear testimony of the trust we have built in our
customers, dealer and supplier partners who have partnered us in this
successful journey so far. The current slowdown in the industry has given us an
opportunity to feed the market with highly competitive products and services,
offering our customers an unbeatable value proposition for their business.”
VRV Sriprasad, Vice President,
Marketing, Sales and After-sales, DICV, said: “BharatBenz rolled out into the
market with a highly systematic planning that focused on a clear understanding
of the Indian customer. This achievement of sales of 10,000 trucks in such a
short time of 18 months clearly proves that BharatBenz has acquired this
understanding. Our future focus will remain to stay close to the Indian trucker
to provide him products of the highest quality and reliability matched by a
highly efficient service package.”
The company has a network of 71
state-of-the-art dealer outlets in the country. On the exports front, DICV
along with Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) has made
significant inroads into the African market with the launch of robust DICV-made
Fuso trucks in Tanzania, besides Kenya and Zambia as part of Daimler’s Asia
Business Model.
DICV received the coveted
TS16949:2009 certification for implementation and maintenance of Quality
Management System in the area of Design & Development and Manufacture of
commercial vehicles and has been rated ‘Stable’ by CRISIL for its long term
operations in the country. DICV recently laid the foundation stone for its new
Bus plant in Oragadam, with an earmarked investment of INR 425 crore that will
roll out front and rear engine buses under the brand BharatBenz and
Mercedes-Benz, respectively.