Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has outlined an additional investment of approximately ₹4,000 crore in Tamil Nadu to strengthen BharatBenz products, manufacturing, research and development, infrastructure and future technology readiness.
The investment is part of a non-binding facilitation Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed with the Government of Tamil Nadu at the Tamil Nadu Investment Conclave. The proposed investment would take DICV’s cumulative investment in India to more than ₹14,500 crore and is expected to create approximately 400 jobs over the proposed period.
Since its market launch in 2012, BharatBenz has put more than 220,000 trucks and buses on Indian roads across freight movement, construction, mining, logistics and passenger mobility applications.
DICV investment to support BharatBenz manufacturing and R&D
The proposed investment is expected to support BharatBenz product development, manufacturing, R&D, infrastructure and future technology readiness. DICV said the investment will also strengthen localisation and service readiness as the company prepares for the next phase of its operations in India.
BharatBenz trucks are designed and manufactured for Indian duty cycles across long-haul transportation, regional distribution, construction, mining, tractor-trailer and specialised transport applications. Its bus portfolio covers school, staff and intercity mobility requirements.
DICV operates a 400-acre integrated manufacturing and R&D facility at Oragadam near Chennai, with more than 4,000 employees. The company is supported by more than 400 local suppliers, with approximately 92 per cent of the value of its BharatBenz products localised through its Indian supplier ecosystem.
The BharatBenz network comprises more than 420 dealer and service touchpoints across India. DICV has also recently launched a Parts Logistics Centre in Pune to support parts availability and dealer operations.
BharatBenz exports and Daimler Truck global operations
Alongside its India operations, DICV serves as a manufacturing, sourcing and engineering base within Daimler Truck's global network.
The company has exported more than 75,000 trucks and buses and over 330 million parts to more than 70 markets. It also supplies transmissions manufactured in Chennai to Daimler Truck plants in Germany.
Torsten Schmidt, Managing Director and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, said the investment reflects the company's plans for the next phase of commercial vehicle growth in India.
“BharatBenz was built for India, and this investment reflects our confidence in the next phase of the country’s commercial vehicle growth,” Schmidt said.
He added that DICV would focus on products, localisation, service readiness and parts availability while maintaining India's role as a manufacturing and supply base within Daimler Truck's global network.