BharatBenz expands Sales and Service Network; 300th Touch Point Inaugurated

• Inaugurates 10 new touchpoints in partnership with Autobahn in Maharashtra
• Average distance between two BharatBenz touchpoints in western Maharashtra reduces to 75 km
• BharatBenz has 26 active touchpoints in Maharashtra

Chennai – Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG (“Daimler Truck”), today announced the milestone inauguration of its 300^th sales and service touch point in India. Coming closer to its customers, BharatBenz further expanded its sales and service footprint in the western region by adding 10 new BharatBenz touchpoints in partnership with Autobahn Trucking.

The 300^th touchpoint of BharatBenz network was inaugurated at Loni, a strategic location in the Pune – Solapur highway. The other newly inaugurated touchpoints are in Sangli, Baramati, Goa, Solapur, Malegaon, Alephata, Talegaon, Indapur and Kudal. Earlier this year, BharatBenz and Autobahn expanded their reach in Maharashtra by inaugurating sales and service touchpoints in Chakan, Nashik and Satara. The partnership is committed to opening a total of 25 touch points in the state by the end of 2022. BharatBenz touchpoints will provide comprehensive commercial vehicle solutions to vehicles plying in and through the region.

Mr. Rajaram Krishnamurthy, Vice President of Marketing, Sales, and Customer Service, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, said, “We are excited to reach the 300^th milestone with Autobahn Trucking’s newest 3S facility in Loni, Maharashtra. Western India has been a strong region for our sales and Maharashtra has always been a performing market for BharatBenz. Expanding our network footprint with 10 new touchpoints at strategic locations will help us further cater to the increasing demand for BharatBenz trucks and buses and provide a world-class customer experience in the region.”

Currently, BharatBenz has 26 touch points in Maharashtra. Sales have exceeded 15,000 BharatBenz trucks and buses in the state since its inception. BharatBenz touch points are located at intersections of major National Highways across the state of Maharashtra, including the likes of NH3, NH4, NH6 and NH66. These highways are the lifelines for goods movements in the country connecting North India to South and West India to East.

“With this expansion, we now have over 160 service bays active in Maharashtra that are capable of servicing 5000+ vehicles a month. By the end of 2022, we will have 25 fully operational Autobahn Trucking touchpoints in the state, thereby reducing the average distance between two BharatBenz touchpoints in western Maharashtra from 150 km to 75 km approximately. The expansion is planned to address the increasing demand for BharatBenz products in the region and to demonstrate DICV’s firm commitment to the Indian market and the ever increasing community of BharatBenz,” Rajaram added.

Mr. Mohamed Farzad, Managing Director, Autobahn Trucking said, “"In addition to our strong network in Kerala, we are proud to expand and partner with BharatBenz in Maharashtra. In the last 7 months, we have already added 13 new touchpoints across Maharashtra and will reach 25 touchpoints by the end of this year. With the new BharatBenz dealerships, customers can be assured of the best sales advice and state-of-the-art ‘Proserv’ after sales support. With 450+ technicians onboard, we look to serve 30,000 vehicles per annum with 100 bays."

"We are coming up with a state-of-the-art “Regional Training Center (RTC)” at Chakan to cater to the training needs of all west region DICV dealers. It is spread across a 7000+ sq.ft area and will take care of advanced and expert training of all technicians. This RTC will be a miniature replica of the Integrated Training Center at DICV, Oragadam," he added.

BharatBenz dealerships are located on leading national and state highways, providing ease and flexibility to every type of customer. BharatBenz now has a total of 300 touch points strategically covering the length and breadth of India along national highways of the Golden quadrilateral North-South and East-West Corridors. BharatBenz’s reach of customers on these highways is under 2.5 hours.

Daimler Truck at a glance

Daimler Truck Holding AG ("Daimler Truck") is one of the world's largest commercial vehicle manufacturers, with over 40 main locations and more than 100,000 employees around the globe. The founders of Daimler Truck have invented the modern transportation industry with their trucks and buses a good 125 years ago. Unchanged to this day, the company's aspirations are dedicated to one purpose: Daimler Truck works for all who keep the world moving. Its customers enable people to be mobile and get goods to their destinations reliably, on time, and safely. Daimler Truck provides the technologies, products, and services for them to do so. This also applies to the transformation to CO2-neutral driving. The company is striving to make sustainable transport a success, with profound technological knowledge and a clear view of its customers' needs. Daimler Truck's business activities are structured in five reporting segments: Trucks North America (TN) with the truck brands Freightliner and Western Star and the school bus brand Thomas Built Buses. Trucks Asia (TA) with the FUSO and BharatBenz commercial vehicle brands. Mercedes-Benz (MB) with the truck brand of the same name. Daimler Buses (DB) with the Mercedes-Benz and Setra bus brands. Daimler Truck's new Financial Services business (DTFS) constitutes the fifth segment, the product range in the truck segments includes light, medium and heavy trucks for long-distance, distribution and construction traffic and special-purpose vehicles used mainly in the municipal and vocational sector. The product range of the bus segment includes city buses, school buses and intercity buses, coaches and bus chassis. In addition to the sale of new and used commercial vehicles, the company also offers aftersales services and connectivity solutions.

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. at a glance

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Daimler Truck AG, Germany, and operating under the umbrella of Daimler Trucks Asia, is a full-fledged commercial vehicle player in India with a brand dedicated to its home market: BharatBenz. DICV produces and sells trucks from 10 to 55 tons, as well as BharatBenz buses, Mercedes-Benz coaches, and bus chassis. DICV’s state-of-the-art manufacturing plant at Oragadam near Chennai spreads over 400 acres (160 hectares) including a highly modern test track and is home to the company’s headquarters, R&D, and training operations. With one global quality standard, it also produces Daimler Trucks’ brands of FUSO, Mercedes-Benz, and Freightliner. Products and parts are exported to more than 60 markets in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. DICV represents an overall investment of more than INR 9,560 crores.