Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has announced the launch of its truck exchange program called ‘BharatBenz Exchange’. Leveraging its growing customer base and wide dealer network, this will supplement its existing new vehicle sales model by offering an exchange platform where customers can exchange their used vehicles of any brand for new or used BharatBenz vehicles.

Without the scrappage policy in place, the company expects this new program to have three times the new vehicle business. BharatBenz Exchange will provide buyers with a carefully-picked pool of used trucks that have undergone thorough quality checks, made available via its nationwide dealership network. At present they are running this in their dealer networks and around 60 percent of the dealers are already part of this program. The rest 40 percent will be part of this by 2020-end.

Satyakam Arya, managing director and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles said, “As the number of BharatBenz owners rapidly increases, we feel it is the right time to tap the massive potential presented by the used commercial vehicle segment. Welook forward to delivering BharatBenz’s superior quality, service and TCO to an even larger customer base.”

The company is starting its second shift in their manufacturing facility from this month.  Arya pointed out that, "There is a phenomenal acceptance for our products in the market and we are ramping up to match the needs. We also recently signed an MoU with the state of Tamil Nadu. At the same time, we think this is the best time to start the exchange program."

BharatBenz Exchange aims to provide customers with the best resale value and smooth management of the end-to-end documentation process for optimum customer satisfaction. The experts at BharatBenz will also support used vehicle buyers (both individuals and companies) with a large portfolio of vehicles suitable to their application by providing the right AMC and Extended Warranty options for their range of refurbished trucks. The team will also assist in identifying the right financing partner.

DICV is in the process of digitising services to better promote the used vehicle business. They are also looking into tie-ups with leading online used vehicle platforms and other options in order to reach a larger customer base.

Rajaram Krishnamurthy, vice-president, Marketing & Sales and Customer Service, added, "There is a huge demand in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities for used trucks and rural India is where used truck business is growing. We also see drivers who are converting to owners preferring medium duty trucks as their starting point."

Krishnamurthy explained that, "With BharatBenz Exchange, used vehicle sellers and buyers no longer have to haggle over the right price or worry about incomplete paperwork. Our trained experts will ensure that both parties have the best customer experience. We see enormous potential here to show even more customers the quality of BharatBenz products and services. This also ensures the complete lifecycle of the vehicle is taken care of."