DICV Pushes Deeper Into Product Development as CV Demand Shifts

Chennai-based Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV) stepped up its engineering push in FY25, spending Rs 211 crore on research and development (R&D) as it leaned on localized product development, imported technology adaptation and platform upgrades to strengthen its commercial vehicle portfolio.

DICV's latest Board eport  for the fiscal year 2024-2025  sourced from  Tofler, a financial intelligence firm, shows that R&D expenditure accounted for 2.02% of total turnover. The company said its R&D work is designed to anticipate changing market needs and future mobility requirements.

For a commercial vehicle maker, the significance lies less in the headline spending figure and more in what it is being spent on. DICV’s engineering priorities include improved heavy-duty gear ratios, a variable steering gearbox, wind deflectors for better aerodynamics, an automated manual gearbox for mining vehicles, common electrical and electronics architecture, TPMS for premium buses, and suspension upgrades for both buses and heavy-duty trucks.

The company is also using imported technology as a stepping stone for local engineering. The report says the imported technology is the G131 AMT transmission for heavy-duty truck platforms, with import timing listed as 2024-27 and status marked “Pre-QG09”. That suggests DICV is in the early phase of absorbing the technology while local teams adapt it for Indian operating conditions, duty cycles and cost structures.

A key theme in the report is localization. DICV says its products are benchmarked against international standards while being customized to meet India-specific requirements, and that new projects are being developed using locally sourced parts with improved technology made available to local vendors. The company adds that this should improve reliability and performance while keeping costs competitive, a crucial point in a market where fleets are highly sensitive to uptime and operating expense.

The benefits DICV lists are practical rather than abstract: better fuel economy, improved uptime, simpler diagnostics, reduced driver fatigue, stronger aerodynamics and lower total cost of ownership.

Since the beginning of August, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles  has been offering the new BharatBenz HX series, further tailored to meet specific needs of customers in India’s growing construction and mining segment. The series includes two heavy-duty truck models: the 2828C HX and the 3532C HX. DICV has tested all new models in extensive customer trials at India's demanding construction and mining sites. Tests with various customers and more than 150 vehicles demonstrated significant improvement in operational efficiency.

India a Big Focus for Daimler Trucks

The enhanced push for R&D should be seen in the context of  Daimler Trucks' annual report-2025. DICV's India operations saw its sales  increasing slightly compared to the prior year, reaching 22,356 units (2024: 21,434).  "Daimler India Commercial Vehicles has been in business only since 2012 and represents a strategic opportunity where we are leveraging domestic volume and building the foundation for profitable export growth" the company said in its annual report.

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles,  a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, Germany,  produces and sells trucks from 9 to 55 tons, as well as BharatBenz buses and bus chassis. DICV’s state-of-the-art manufacturing plant at Oragadam near Chennai spread over 400 acres  including a highly modern test track and is home to the company’s headquarters, R&D, and training operations. DICV which has invested over Rs 9560 crore in Indian operations also exports products and parts to more than 70 markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.