Mitsubishi FUSO trucks roll out of Bharat-Benz's Orgadam plant

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) earlier announced that its manufacturing unit in Oragadam near Chennai will roll out the Mitsubishi FUSO range of trucks for the export markets.

First of the FUSO trucks based on the "Daimler Trucks Technical Platforms" are now rolling off this production line. Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, Japan (MFTBC) is a subsidiary of Daimler AG and is looking to further explore its production synergy with DICV.

The FUSO range of trucks that are made in India will be exported to select markets in Asia and Africa. The trucks will be sold through FUSO's distribution networks.

The first launch markets will be Sri Lanka in June 2013, followed by Bangladesh, Zambia, Kenya and Brunei later this year. Other markets that are identified by Daimler are Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Tanzania, Malawi, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Mauritius and the Seychelles. The company will add further markets along the course.

The gains of manufacturing FUSO trucks in India is that MFTBC can leverage DICV's local supplier base for cost effective manufacturing. In addition, the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India, located in Bengaluru will aid FUSO in the product development.

The FUSO range that is manufactured in India consists of five models spanning the 9-16 tonne category and the 25 to 49 tonne category.

Daimler says the move is a part of "the new Asia Business Model" which is designed to address new growth trends and strengthen Asia operations for the mid- to long-term.