BharatBenz is a brand of trucks manufactured and marketed in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 by Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, Private Limited (DICV), a wholly owned subsidiary of Daimler AG. It produces trucks in the 6 - 49 ton range.

History

The launch of the BharatBenz brand was announced on 17 February, 2011 by Daimler AG Chairman Dieter Zetsche

Dieter Zetsche

Dieter Zetsche is a German businessman and the Chairman of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars since 2006 as well as member of the company's Board of Management since 1998....

. The decision to launch the brand was prompted by Daimler's determination to compete in the fast-growing Indian market against dominant Indian brands, such as Tata Motors

Tata Motors

Tata Motors Limited is an Indian multinational automotive corporation headquartered in Mumbai, India. Part of the Tata Group, it was formerly known as TELCO...

, and Indian ventures of other leading global truck manufacturers, such as Mahindra Navistar, Volvo Eicher, etc.

The strategy for the brand will be to build light trucks based on Daimler's Fuso Canter

Mitsubishi Fuso Canter

The Mitsubishi Fuso Canter is a line of light-duty commercial vehicle by Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation. The range is currently marketed in Japan, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and a number of other Asian countries...

 platform and heavier trucks based on the Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

 trucks platform.

Production

DICV setup a manufacturing plant for the BharatBenz trucks in Oragadam

Oragadam

Oragadam is a town and industrial area located on the outskirts of Chennai, India. It is located 16 miles east of Kanchipuram.-Industries:...

, near Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

 in Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

 at an investment of over €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

700 Million. Initial production capacity at the plant in 2011 was for 36000 units per year.

DICV's supply chain for the trucks includes parts sourced from 430 Indian vendors.