Mercedes-Benz is set to enter the city bus market in India. Although the time frame hasn’t been determined, executives at the company are pushing full throttle. The company made its bus debut in September 2008 when it launched the two-axle buses. Then in January this year it came out with its three-axle bus.
The buses will be low-floor or entry version luxury and will compete with big names like Volvo, Ashok Leyland and Tata Motors. “With such big infrastructure investments by the government there will be a sea change in public transport; also, Indian consumers are leaning more towards luxurious and reliable transport which is where we fit in,” says Wilfried Aulbur, managing director and chief executive officer, Mercedes-Benz India.
Bus makers have been helped by the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission of the government. Under this programme, thousands of buses have been bought for intra-city transport. With the vast improvement in the country’s network of highways, state road transport corporations and private tour operators have begun to ply luxury buses between cities.
Of the 69,000 buses made every year, over a per cent are in the luxury space. However, the German company expects growth of 15-20 per cent over the years, making this an important segment. Globally, Mercedes-Benz has a 13 per cent market share in the luxury bus market. According to Aulbur, the company has already got 23 orders for its January launched three-axle buses, and is confident of taking this number up to 100 by the end of this year. That’s an ambitious target considering the company sold just nine buses in all of 2009.
Mercedes-Benz currently makes passenger cars, sells imported cars and trucks for mining. It also makes bus chassis in the luxury bus segment at the company’s plant in Pune. The bus body is made at Sutlej Motors in Jalandhar. At present, the company has a manufacturing capacity of 1,200 units. Eventually, it intends to make inroads into all three segments — light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles by 2012.