German commercial vehicles major Mercedes-Benz India has decided to take on Volvo by entering into the city-bus segment. The buses will be low-floor or entry version luxury types. The company has seen an impressive response to its two and three -axle (multi-axle) buses this calendar year from state transport undertakings as well as private operators.
Mercedes-Benz India is not only looking to strengthening its presence in the luxury bus segment, but aims to become a market leader in the 1,000-unit a year luxury bus market in India, said Wilfried Aulbur, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India. Aulbur spoke to reporters on Thursday. The company sold its first three-axle luxury bus to Chennai-based Parveen Travels.
He added, ?We are keen on entering into the city-bus segment, where there is a huge demand from both state transport undertakings as well as private travel agencies. We hope to come out wth the same soon.?
The bus market size in India is around 69,500 units a year. The luxury segment is estimated at around 1,000 units.
?The demand for this segment is growing faster than normal segments. We expect to grow 15-20% a year for the next eight-10 years,” he said.
Responding to a question, he said: ?We have been getting an overwhelming response for our three-axle (multi-axle) luxury bus ever since we showcased at the January Auto Expo in New Delhi. In the last five months, we have received 23 orders for three-axle buses and 13 buses have been delivered. We have been overwhelmed by huge response from customers and hope to end 2010 with sale of more than 100 buses, compared with 9 buses in 2009.?
The company has asked its body builder ? Sutlej of Jalandhar ? to spruce up its capacity. ?We have enough capacity at our Pune plant to meet increased demand. With the proposed city-bus launch, Mercedes-Benz is set for major growth in India,? he said.