Bharat Benz aims to double dealerships

Bharat Benz, a relatively new and brand of trucks, is aiming to more than double its dealerships to 100 from the current 52 now in 15-18 months.

The company said it will be comfortably selling out its complete Chennai plant capacity, which currently rolls out 36,000 units in a year.

“Once that is achieved, we will embark on our second phase of expansion, which will take the capacity to up to 270,000 per year, or 2,500 units of heavy duty and medium duty trucks a month,” said V R V Sriprasad, vice-president – marketing, sales and after-sales, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV).

A year ago, DICV launched its Bharat Benz range of trucks for the Indian roads.

While the company claims its products brought about a marked shift in customer preferences and the way trucks are sold in India, its range of nine models introduced so far had been able to clock a sales 5,000 units, with a market share of almost 15-18% in southern India.

Sriprasad said by 2014 the company will also double the number of platforms from the current nine, especially in the heavy duty segment.

Also, it plans to cover northern India with a major focus on Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

“We will cover almost 80% of India in the next 15-18 months,” he said.

 Marc Listosella, managing director and CEO, DICV and Daimler Trucks Asia, said the company has the policy of not offering any discounts to its dealers or customers, rather it is focused on enhanced customer and dealer engagement and training.

He said despite a tepid market, DICV is doing well in India and its exports to the Asian countries are also growing.

“Our competitors are offering huge discounts to retain market share while we are promising better pricing, better running costs and higher after-sales service,” he said.

While customer feedback suggests Bharat Benz trucks are better in performance, safety and quality, other players offer products that are 30% cheaper than Bharat Benz.

According to DICV, while the market expects truck volumes to be around 340,000 per annum in 2013, realistic estimates suggest it will be around 230,000-240,000, the figure touched by the industry about five years ago.

Listosella said in the next two years the demand is expected to rise much faster as infrastructure and other macro developmental activities pick up.