All automobile giants ranging from the very Indian automobile majors to the German manufacturers who stepped into our country a few years back, wish to expand their business and become flexible in terms of production to whatever extent possible. If a company is successful in such expansions then there is hardly any chances of it facing any troubles in coming future.
Apart from the Tata’s who are into the heavy vehicle building business besides car production, Mercedes-Benz has become the next major to step into the Bus Body Building business. Today at the Chakan Plant in Pune, Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India along with Mr. Piyush Arora (Director, Technical, Mercedes-Benz India) & Mr. Srinivas Chilukuri, General Manager, Bus Sales & Marketing, Mercedes-Benz India laid the foundation stone of this new facility.
This leap taken by the company is in accordance with the future expansion needs which are bound to arise and now that the company has entered this business, a lot would be expected from it. The production is expected to start from the second half of the year 2011.
Speaking on the occasion Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said, “We would now like to expand into the city buses segment, making luxury travel affordable for public transport users of the urban population. We have partnered with MCV I am confident that this new facility will enable us further consolidate our position in the commercial vehicle market by efficiently catering to our growing demand.”
Mercedes says that the cities demand high end luxurious buses now with an estimated number of 500 units per annum which is further expected to grow at a lucrative rate of 20% each year. Another important fact is that since the population is high and the daily commuters are large in number, the future buses need to be safe, reliable and robust and the firm assures of offering all such qualities.
