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Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) outlined a fresh investment of approximately Rs 4,000 crore in Tamil Nadu to strengthen its commercial vehicle brand BharatBenz and enhance the broader ecosystem. The development was announced as part of a non-binding facilitation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Government of Tamil Nadu during the Tamil Nadu Investment Conclave.
This newly proposed capital infusion brings DICV's cumulative investments across the country to more than Rs 14,500 crore. The expansion project aims to generate roughly 400 jobs while expanding capabilities across product development, manufacturing operations, research and development, local infrastructure, and future technology readiness. The vehicle maker stated that the fresh funding will support its product readiness amid growing domestic demand. Continued government investments in highways, logistics corridors, ports, mining, and public transport continue to drive requirements for commercial fleets focused on higher operational efficiency, uptime, and safety. "BharatBenz was built for India, and this investment reflects our confidence in the next phase of the country's commercial vehicle growth," said Torsten Schmidt, Managing Director & CEO of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles. Since launching sales operations in 2012, the subsidiary of Germany's Daimler Truck AG has put over 220,000 BharatBenz trucks and buses on Indian roads. Operations center around a 400-acre integrated manufacturing and R&D site at Oragadam near Chennai, employing over 4,000 workers. "As infrastructure, logistics, mining, construction and passenger mobility continue to expand, Indian customers need trucks and buses that deliver higher uptime, safety, reliability and operating efficiency," Schmidt added. The facility sources heavily from domestic vendors, maintaining a localization rate of around 92 per cent across its product value chain alongside a network of 400 local suppliers. "Through BharatBenz, we are strengthening products, localization, service readiness and parts availability for India, while also reinforcing the country's role as an important manufacturing and supply base within Daimler Truck's global network," he noted. Servicing is handled through a network exceeding 420 dealer and service touchpoints, supplemented by a logistics center in Pune. Beyond domestic sales, the Chennai plant serves as an international hub for Daimler Truck, having exported more than 75,000 completed vehicles and over 330 million component parts to 70 markets globally. (ANI)
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