BharatBenz launches 2 heavy duty commercial trucks

CHENNAI: With the launch of BharatBenz's HX and TorqShift series models on Wednesday, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) announced its intent to boost its share in India's $16 billion construction and mining equipment sector that is projected to touch $45 billion by 2030 at a compounded annual growth rate of about 20 per cent.

With a market share of about 50 per cent in the mining segment (barring deep mining), DICV is confident of the latest introductions, driving sales in these segments.

This heavy-duty truck series (28 tonne priced at Rs 56 lakh and 35 tonne at Rs 65 lakh) from the wholly-owned subsidiary of Germany's Daimler Truck AG, is aimed at addressing the critical need for reliable, high-performance vehicles as large contractors increasingly invest in owned assets and modernise their aging fleets.

Unveiling the two vehicles at the Oragadam plant, near here, Satyakam Arya, managing director-CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, said, "India's construction and mining sector continues to be one of our strongest business pillars. We're seeing a decisive shift as large contractors invest in owned assets for better control and long-term returns. Many fleets are 8-10 years old and reaching the end-of-life, creating a major replacement cycle. Our extensive customer trials with 150+ trucks have validated the real-world performance and profitability impact these vehicles deliver.”

Pradeep Kumar Thimmaiyan, president-CTO, DICV, said, "We designed the HX by listening to customers. Priority for vehicles with higher payload capacities, faster TAT and fleet managers demanding lower maintenance costs. Every component re-design addresses real customer challenges.”

Rajiv Chaturvedi, president and chief business officer, DICV, said, “Fleet operators increasingly demand maximum uptime and swift maintenance solutions. The HX range helps operators minimise project delays and optimise operations. ”

As a prelude to the launch, Arya told the media here on Tuesday initial trials had shown eagerness among customers to embrace the new series, leading the company to sound upbeat on generating 65 per cent of its sales from TorqShift vehicles. "These are two game changing products," he sought to point out, as he elaborated on the need to bring AMT to the market.

While the HX series relates to surface mining (quarrying 20 m deep), meeting the sourcing to construction site needs from a logistics perspective, the TorqShift vehicle caters to the mining range (coal, iron-ore, big quarries spread on 700-1,000 acres), wherein, material from pit to surface transfers are made. The latter is classified as a productivity machine and the new models are redesigned to meet customer demands, the officials explained.

To a query, Arya said the localisation was about 95 per cent and DICV is also looking at exports in the long run. "Indonesia is a potential customer and feasibility studies are underway," he added.

The electric option is in the development stage while CNG is also an option under evaluation, he said, in response to another query.