Scania’s India game-plan: to stay focused on premium truck and bus segment

Scania Commercial Vehicles India, the local arm of the Swedish truck major, is to remain firmly entrenched in the Indian premium truck and bus market with niche applications. The company, which is  known globally for its high-powered trucks, is keen to bring in its high-end products to the Indian market for Indian market and make them suitable for Indian condition.

Speaking to Autocar Professional at the Auto Expo, Mikael Benje, managing director, Scania Commercial Vehicles India, who recently took over the India operations, said: “We are not looking for the mass market in India. Scania globally cater to the premium segments and we will continue to do the same here. India is a challenging and cost-conscious market but we are making efforts to provide the right products for the right applications.”

When asked about the localisation of its trucks in India, Benje said, “It will take considerable time to develop a local supplier base for the quality Scania stands for. We are working here with suppliers to enhance our local content in the trucks to optimise the cost benefits. However, it will take time and currently we are trying chassis locations, although key aggregates will continue to be imported.”

According to Benje, Scania’s Metrolink buses are gaining ground in the Indian premium bus segment. Along with private operators, a number of State Transport Undertakings (STUs) are buying these buses. At present, around 280 Metrolink buses ply on Indian roads. Following their introduction in the southern and western regions of the country, the company will launch them in phases in the north and east.  

At the Auto Expo, Scania CV India unveiled two new products – the Citywide bus and the G310 truck. The Citywide, India’s first biofuel-powered commercial bus with a low floor and low- entry, is compatible with all commercially available eco-friendly biofuels and complies with Bharat Stage (BS) 4, Euro 5 and Euro 6 emission norms.

The G310 truck, a haulage tractor, is billed as a product with market-leading productivity, increased safety, maximised vehicle uptime and outstanding fuel efficiency to help customers realise industry-best Total Operating Economy (TOE). The G 310 is equipped with Scania OptiCruise, a fully automatic gear change system that improves the vehicle’s performance by selecting gears that are most appropriate. The truck offers high performance with electronic load transfer, allowing the driver to transfer more load to the drive axle, thereby increasing the traction. 

Scania opens R&D centre in Bangalore
Scania’s research and development in Bangalore, India, has, in collaboration with Larsen & Toubro Technology Services, recently inaugurated its new office. In addition to its main R&D centre at the head office in Södertälje, Sweden, Scania also carries out research activities in São Bernardo do Campo.

The R&D office in India, with approximately 100 development engineers, is primarily focused on localising and adapting Scania’s buses and trucks for the Indian market as well as for other emerging markets.

“It’s difficult to work in Sweden and understand the needs here,” says Örjan Rasmusson, director of R&D in India. “The products here need to be simple to both use, maintain and repair. We make full use of Scania’s modular system to produce vehicles that match the very specific needs of the Indian market. But since we historically have been very focused on Western Europe, we lack some performance steps for the emerging markets.”

The R&D office in Bangalore divides its resources equally between buses and trucks. In buses, the focus is especially on the locally produced Metrolink. Scania has decentralised its bus body engineering to its production facilities, which in addition to Bangalore are located in Lahti, Finland, and Słupsk, Poland. In trucks, the designers also work with design adaption for the Indian market and incorporating domestically sourced components.

In India, Scania has also highlighted the benefits of alternative fuels, particularly ethanol, not only for reducing emissions but also as a means of making use of locally available resources while productively addressing growing problems of waste disposal and wastewater treatment.