German truck brand Bharatbenz is gradually making inroads into the Indian medium and heavy commercial vehicle (M&HCV) market. It has reported a 63 per cent rise in its truck sales, and improved market share by 100 basis points during the first quarter of 2015.
Daimler India Commercial Vehicle (DICV), Indian arm of Daimler AG, sold 3,600 units of its BharatBenz trucks in India during January-March 2015 when compared with 2,200 units in the year-ago period.
The total M&HCV (goods) sales in the domestic market stood at 64,170 units against 47,812 units. With 63 per cent rise in its truck sales, DICV’s share grew to 5.6 per cent from 4.6 per cent. The Indian market for medium- and heavy-duty trucks remained on a course of recovery from a low level during the quarter. Tata Motors had about 52 per cent share (53 per cent). Ashok Leyland and VE Commercial Vehicle garnered share of 29 per cent (26 per cent) and nine per cent (11 per cent), respectively.
Meanwhile, DICV is gearing up to commission its new bus plant at its Oragadam manufacturing complex near Chennai during the last week of this month. It will also be launching a new range of trucks and buses under BharatBenz brand. The Orgadam factory will make front-engine buses under BharatBenz brand for the volume market and rear-engine ones, will be sold under Mercedes Benz brand, for the premium segment.
