[thecdkfactor]

Originally Posted by Autokrat

The models of trucks Bharat Benz is bringing to India seems to be from their South American port folio. Not the latest from Europe. India being a cost sensitive market, they are careful to offer models with limited frills.

However, the 25 tonner is a very sensitive market in India with a huge TIV, in both haulage and tipper market. A 160 or 180 Hp engine should be more than enough for the 25 tonner haulage segment. A 230 Hp engine is not only over powered, but is going to cost the fuel efficiency dearly. We have to wait till any KMPL trial results are out - especially in the Krishnagiri to Bangalore Section. OT - Only MAN offers a 220 Hp engine currently for the 25 T Haulage. All other players have limited themselves to 180 HP.

[vivekkp]

Benz is revving up for a Bharat drive

Come Wednesday and there will be a new competitor driving into the commercial vehicle (CV) market: Daimler India with its Bharat Benz brand. Daimler A.G.’s Indian subsidiary will be launching the first model produced from its Chennai plant in what observers say is a defining moment for the CV industry. Daimler has a formidable reputation for product quality and its technology edge. And, it will enter an industry that has somehow not kept pace with the global market in terms of product evolution, unlike its sibling, passenger cars.

Complete story:
http://www.thehindu.com/business/com...cle3926935.ece

[ambivalent_98]

BHaratBenz is coming which is evident with Tata announcing 6 launches in one go. I have no details of the exact spec but I am sure they are in line with the BB launches with a lower price tag.
Anyway good luck BB , who will bring out the best in the competition (Tata , AL etc).

[altius]

Cheapest Benz launched in India @15.7L
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/16558577.cms

[deetjohn]

Given the recency of this launch, the number of Bharat Benz trucks that are plying in Kerala is amazing.

The trucks looks great on road and I the only thing that I am still not able to digest is the name.

And looks like KL' fascination for the Germans is not just limited to cars!

[Autokrat]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Given the recency of this launch, the number of Bharat Benz trucks that are plying in Kerala is amazing.

The market is down and Bharat Benz seems to be giving heavy discounts and literally buying out some market share. This may be one of the reasons.

[TheARUN]

Also they have their own finance arm which helps them push vehicles. With 100% finance nowadays, all you need is will to own a truck

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by TheARUN

Also they have their own finance arm which helps them push vehicles. With 100% finance nowadays, all you need is will to own a truck

AL, TM, Mahindra also have their financial arms. But funding is purely on the basis of customers profile. No company will dare to give 100 % funding for everyone, even if its their own vehicles.
In many cases ( not sure about TMF but Hinduja Leyland finance,Indus Ind bank, Mahindra Finance) they do financing for competition vehicles also if the deal is attractive.
In this case Daimler Financial is a part of Daimler AG and have their own profit and loss account and they have come to do business in India as like Daimler trucks as Bharat Benz.

[Auto freak]

Spotted this 49T BB tractor trailer on NH4 a couple of days back. They ve been testing this for really long now!

[Krishnan83]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

Given the recency of this launch, the number of Bharat Benz trucks that are plying in Kerala is amazing.

The trucks looks great on road and I the only thing that I am still not able to digest is the name.

And looks like KL' fascination for the Germans is not just limited to cars!

I second this opinion. The number of KL registered Bharat Benz trucks of various sizes is just amazing. While waiting near NH 47 in Palakkad, I casually counted as much as 25 BB's within 10 minutes! And mind you, these are not fleet owner owned ones, even local companies are buying single LDVs from Bharat Benz

[Ashley2]

Though its tough times, Bharat Benz continues to make inroads to Indian trucking industry. With most of its dealer activated towards south and west sales are consistent. With more dealers getting activated in east and north, the numbers might increase in the upcoming months.
Now Bharat Benz sits in fourth place above Tata, Ashok Leyland and Eicher motors in Medium and heavy truck industry. But even in the sales numbers quoted by Bharat Benz, atleast 50% comes from their ICV range.

2013 has been difficult for the Indian truck market with almost 30% sales decline until November end. Despite an economic downturn, Indian Daimler Trucks brand, BharatBenz, which has only just set shop has climbed to 4th spot in India’s medium-duty and heavy-duty truck segment.

With about 6,000 BharatBenz vehicles sold by November end, BharatBenz has introduced new models at a steady pace since it began selling here in late September 2012. In all, there will be 17 BharatBenz models in India this year.

[Sreedharan]

Originally Posted by Autokrat

The market is down and Bharat Benz seems to be giving heavy discounts and literally buying out some market share. This may be one of the reasons.

Not really. BharatBenz is one of the few OEMs which is against this culture of discounts. BB doesnot offer any discount to sell numbers. Their CEO publically criticized Tata and AL for pushing sales through discounts as it will affect the overall health of the industry in the longrun.

Link to the news article:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle4455924.ece

[ajman28]

Originally Posted by Sreedharan

Not really. BharatBenz is one of the few OEMs which is against this culture of discounts. BB doesnot offer any discount to sell numbers. Their CEO publically criticized Tata and AL for pushing sales through discounts as it will affect the overall health of the industry in the longrun.

Link to the news article:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle4455924.ece

The article is almost a year old. I think the market scenario has changed quite drastically since then! Discounts are available across the spectrum (maybe not directly from BB but through their dealer).

[Sreedharan]

Originally Posted by ajman28

The article is almost a year old. I think the market scenario has changed quite drastically since then! Discounts are available across the spectrum (maybe not directly from BB but through their dealer).

I am pretty sure that there were/ are no discounts on BB products. Also discounts generally are always driven by OEMs. Dealers themselves cannot offer a discount. At max they can offer some accessories (that too in cars).

Another article released 4 months ago on the same topic.
http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/daim...bharatbenz-724

[Ashley2]

Daimler is currently offering products marginally higher than competition price. This may be penetration strategy. In many case, this has worked but not largely, especially in case of bulk deals. Also currently BharatBenz is largely betting on total cost of ownership - this includes fuel performance, maintenance cost etc, and is claiming it will be much lesser than others. While this may be true with some customers, other way when it flips, the total loyalty on brand reduces and brings them in line with current competition. Now competition is waiting at the door step with same products which they are using it for years with better discounts. And that sounds better for customers.
Now in this case, if you look back even before BharatBenz entered India Eicher was offering huge discounts(in M&HCV) followed by AL and TM specific to regions. But at that time customer didn't want to try EML. But just replace EML with AL and TML where they are already proven (may be with some niggles here and there) aganist BharatBenz. You will see with customers.
In case of ICV where EML is leader and now when a customer comes back after buying BB and if they offer discounts, why should they look back BB?

Also like BharatBenz strategy, its competition strategy to offer products with discounts making them VFM aginst BharatBenz. And honestly Mr.Llistosella cannot comment on it. If Daimler can still sustain with discounts and price band what competition is offering, its good. If not ideally it will be difficult by just telling lesser cost of ownership which competition have already started to work on.
Other point is, even with current price Daimler may not sustain for a long time and will definitely need to increase for which competition is moving against.