Commercial vehicle manufacturer Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Tamil Nadu, covering Rs 2,277 crore of new investmens designed to expand production of commercial vehicles at its plant in Oragadam in Chennai. This investment also represents an approximate 400 jobs. The plant currently has a manufacturing capacity of 72,000 trucks and 4,000 buses per annum.

Satyakam Arya, MD and CEO of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, said, “This is the second MoU that DICV has signed with the government of Tamil Nadu. It demonstrates our unshakeable confidence in the long-term potential of India as a market for commercial vehicles and our ongoing commitment to the country as a whole.”

DICV was established as a wholly-owned Daimler subsidiary in 2009 to address four strategic targets: serve the strategic Indian growth market for commercial vehicles, leverage its potential as an exports base, develop its sourcing potentials for Daimler globally, and leverage specific competencies to provide shared services to the Daimler Group.

Since launching its made-for-India CV brand BharatBenz in 2012, DICV has sold well over 100,000 trucks and buses both in India and abroad. The company also exports to around 50 countries. Since setting up operations, DICV has already exported more than 30,000 vehicles and 125 million parts.