India – The wholly-owned subsidiary Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) laid the foundation stone of its new manufacturing facility, which will cover 27.91 acres within the company’s existing premises.
The Oragadam plant near Chennai will make buses under the Mercedes-Benz and BharatBenz brands from the second quarter of 2015. It will be the only Daimler Trucks plant worldwide to produce three brands of trucks and buses, plus engines. The annual capacity will begin at 1,500 units, with the potential to increase to 4,000. The workforce will be 300.
Daimler India buses will be made at 9t, 16t and over 16t categories, with both front and rear engine configurations. The company has partnered with bus body builder Wrightbus for its front-engined units; the body-making facility will be part of the new plant.
Wolfgang Bernhard, Daimler AG board member with responsibility for Daimler Trucks and Buses, commented: “On the basis of our strong truck business, we are now pressing ahead on [sic] the Indian bus market. For that purpose, we are consistently using existing suppliers, our production site and our sales network in India.”
www.daimler-indiacv.com