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Old 18th December 2014, 18:53   #1
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Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV) has rolled out the 20,000th truck from its plant at Oragadam, near Chennai. The company has achieved this milestone only two and a half years from the since the production of the first BharatBenz heavy-duty truck. The 20,000th locally produced truck is a BharatBenz 2523C Tipper.

About half of the 20,000 trucks produced at the plant were manufactured in 2014, indicating the rapid growth at which the production site has been witnessing.

The DICV plant in Oragadam produces trucks and engines of the three brands - BharatBenz, FUSO and Mercedes-Benz. A new bus manufacturing facility is being constructed within the existing premises of DICV. The bus plant is spread across an area of 27.91 acres and will be completed by the second quarter of 2015. The company has earmarked an investment of Rs. 425 crore for the project . The plant will initially have an installed capacity of 1,500 units, which can be expanded to 4,000 units subsequently. The DICV plant will be the only Daimler truck plant worldwide, that manufactures three brands of trucks and buses under one roof.
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Old 19th December 2014, 14:40   #2
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

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Originally Posted by Aditya View Post
About half of the 20,000 trucks produced at the plant were manufactured in 2014
~10,000 in 2014 - pales in comparison to big guys like Tata & Ashok Leyland.

Still, Daimler must be happy. In merely 3 years, their Indian truck division matches the revenues of the car division that's been around for nearly 20! Mercedes sells about 10,000 cars each year in India. IIRC, Bharat Benz trucks are priced in the Rs. 20 - 40 lakh range.
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Old 19th December 2014, 14:51   #3
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

It looks no different from the trucks we see on Indian roads. With Indian mods, it looks more Indian than our Desi trucks, right from their brand name.

Once my friend pointed at their truck (bharat benz badge) and said " see that truck owner did to his truck". He did not know that it is a real Benz truck.

On other hand I always give a second look and admire whenever I spot a TATA Prima/Volvo truck.

Last edited by Latheesh : 19th December 2014 at 14:53.
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Old 19th December 2014, 16:27   #4
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

If its a loaded truck, you are overtaking it and realize its not easy to do at 100kmph also on a flat road, you get closer and you know its a Bharat Benz.

I have seen a lot of folks think differently and move to Bharat Benz. One of my Uncle's classmate who has been driving Eicher LCV since last 15 years (Keeps changing every 3 years) transporting Jaggery to the towns and villages in South Canara region of Karnataka said he would love to pick up a Bharat Benz if only they had made the chassis shorter which makes it easier to maneuver in certain tight hair pin curves on the usual route he takes.

Nevertheless, Bharat Benz have made an impact (if not significant) in the trucking scene.

Not to forget, even Sand lorries are Bharat Benze these days!

Last edited by paragsachania : 19th December 2014 at 16:40.
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Old 19th December 2014, 17:39   #5
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

I understand Bharat Benz is not selling the bare chassis alone and only selling fully built units. This is one of the reasons many of the operators are still sticking to Tata and Ashok Leyland. The slowdown in the MHCV market around the time they started rolling out their trucks also resulted in the low numbers. But I think Bharat Benz is the only company which can provide a meaningful competition to Ashok Leyland and Tata and in about 5-7 years from now, Bharat Benz could potentially dislodge Ashok Leyland in the MHCV segment
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Old 19th December 2014, 18:01   #6
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

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Originally Posted by GTO View Post
~ IIRC, Bharat Benz trucks are priced in the Rs. 20 - 40 lakh range.
Spot on. That is the price range for these trucks. My cousin sister who is into mining industry has ordered 5 of them few months back. She has refused mouthwatering deals from Tata and AL and went on to order Benz tippers.
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Old 21st December 2014, 22:01   #7
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

Pretty Impressive and points to the right strategy they have adopted for trucks. Their European counterparts must be looking on in envy. I don't think any of them have achieved the scale of Daimler so far.

I guess being the largest HCV manufacturer in the world means you can draw on experience and parts bin from across the world to create a market specific model.
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Old 21st December 2014, 22:50   #8
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

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Originally Posted by Aditya View Post

A new bus manufacturing facility is being constructed within the existing premises of DICV.
Is it the beginning of Bharat Benz Buses?
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Old 22nd December 2014, 02:28   #9
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Originally Posted by johannskaria View Post
Is it the beginning of Bharat Benz Buses?
Not necessarily. The factory produces 3 brands currently.. Mercedes Benz, Bharat Benz and Fuso, so this will likely be under MB. Also, MB is already established as a bus brand...remember the Travel with the the star' ? So I don't think Daimler is going to create a new bus brand as well
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Old 22nd December 2014, 10:50   #10
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

The Daimler story has been discussed on team-bhp earlier:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/commer...ng-sector.html
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Old 22nd December 2014, 17:31   #11
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

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Originally Posted by prashanthyr View Post
Not necessarily. The factory produces 3 brands currently.. Mercedes Benz, Bharat Benz and Fuso, so this will likely be under MB. Also, MB is already established as a bus brand...remember the Travel with the the star' ? So I don't think Daimler is going to create a new bus brand as well
What makes you say so?

'Travel with the star' did not quite go down well with those who buy buses. If you notice, there haven't been many repeat orders from any major bus service operator. DICV, the Daimler subsidiary that manufactures the CV brands you listed in India, does have plans to introduce bus chassis/fully built buses in India - positioned in the mid segment, presently ruled by AL. Their try with Merc buses in the premium segment bombed, and Scania is already going all guns to capture a portion of this segment which can be called Volvo's monopoly in India
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Old 22nd December 2014, 20:06   #12
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

IMHO, 10k units which also include exports of FUSO (around 1k), which means 9k trucks found home in Indian buyers hearts.
So around 750 ICV, MCV & HCV trucks sold per month make it a little better than Mahindra Trucks. Not a big number after 2.5 years of operations.
Nevertheless, despite the overall slowdown and small network of dealerships, they may yet get a chance to eat away market share and make life hell for the big 2 if the two main things pick up.
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Old 22nd December 2014, 22:15   #13
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

Why don't they enter bus chassis business ? If reliability is their strong forte they could pose some serious challenge to Tata and Leylands.
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Old 25th December 2014, 23:13   #14
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

Benz trucks are preferred by drivers. For the same capacity engine and tonnage, Bharat Benz trucks drive way better than Tata and Ashok Leyland.
The driving advantage is such that long haul (> 2000 KM one way) 31T trucks can manage 3 (sometimes 4) round trips a month compared to 2 managed by Tata or AL 31T segment.

But their maintenance, anywhere repair-ability, parts availability, fuel average and potential resell value are still a very big uncertainty in the minds of the transporters. Some owners say that these trucks are more like the modern day cars, where for a minor fault, one has to replace the whole assembly.
A cracked ORVM or Headlight glass would require replacement of entire assembly for about Rs. 6000 and 12,000 respectively (unconfirmed overheard cost figure, may not be correct).
For Tata and AL, all kinds of glasses and every part is available cheaply and can be assembled back in the most decrepit assembly. :-)

While most of the non core parts of Volvo buses can be repaired outside of Volvo authorized facilities, after market for Benz trucks is still pretty much non existent. This is going to be a problem for a long time to come and is hampering the growth of this brand.

Only a sustained presence for 8 to 10 years in the market will convince people that the upside of choosing a Benz may beat the apparent disadvantages. Given that Merc cars have stayed anchored despite of very low sales, I feel Bharat Benz has the substance to stay put and prove that a modern day truck, albeit more expensive to run, is much more profitable to operate.

Last edited by sen2009 : 25th December 2014 at 23:29.
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Old 26th December 2014, 10:58   #15
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Re: Daimler's Oragadam plant rolls out 20,000 trucks

I had a chance to ride a Bharat Benz truck at their dealership. I was sold on the fact that 30+ton trucks have this really cool bunker bed behind the driver unlike the hard ones usually found in the body-build trucks. The cowl-cage at BB is usually factory built, which allows them to give those little extras for the driver which the transport owners usually miss out on.
 
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