Daimler unveils new trucks [Apr 2012]

April 10, 2012 9:06 am

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), the wholly-owned Indian arm of truck maker Daimler AG, unveiled its new range of trucks under the BharatBenz brand.  The first light to heavy-duty BharatBenz trucks weighing 9 to 49 tonnes GVW is gearing up to roll out by the third quarter of this year.
The complete range of 17 commercial vehicles by the new Daimler brand will be available by 2014. This will enable DICV to meet the growing demand for state-of-the-art vehicles in India’s volume segment. At more than 3,00,000 units, this segment was one of the world’s top three truck markets in 2011.   The BharatBenz 1217 tipper is a four-cylinder inline, 140 HP product in 4×2 configuration with 3.9 litre engine capacity. This 12,800 kg GVW truck comes with six forward and one reverse gear-box with overdrive.  The BharatBenz product range includes light, medium, and heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The BharatBenz heavy-duty truck is built on the Mercedes-Benz Axor platform, while the light- and medium-duty trucks are based on the Fuso Canter series. BharatBenz products provide customers with a competitive total cost of ownership, as demonstrated by the vehicles’ great fuel efficiency, long lifespans and service intervals, and great value-for-money.
The entire range of BharatBenz commercial vehicles will be manufactured at the new plant in Oragadam near Chennai. The 160-hectare facility will be put into operation in a few weeks, and production trials of engines and transmissions have already begun. Although the plant’s production capacity will initially be 36,000 units per year, it can be ramped up to 70,000 units.