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Mercedes-Benz eyes bigger share in commercial segment

KOCHI: Luxury passenger car major Mercedes-Benz is set to enter the commercial vehicles segment in India in a big way, says managing director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India Wilfried Aulbur.

Talking to The Hindu here on Monday, Mr. Aulbur said that the ‘Actros’ truck was targeted at mining applications and was being assembled at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Pune since 2007.

The company has also announced its interest in the luxury bus segment and has partnered with Jalandhar-based Sutlej Motors for the creation of the bus body. The launch of the luxury bus is scheduled for the latter half of this year.

Mr. Aulbur said that the company was able to sell over 1,000 Mercedes-Benz cars in Kerala during the past decade. Kerala is an important market for the company and it has spruced up the State’s sole showroom in Kochi.

In view of future requirements, Mercedes-Benz is creating a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Chakan in Pune with an investment of over fifty million Euros. It plans to roll out 5,000 passenger cars and 1,200 trucks and buses from the Pune facility annually. This would come into effect from next year, Mr. Aulbur said.

The company registered a growth of over 100 per cent in the S-Class segment during 2007-2008 . The growth was over 125 per cent in the C-Class segment with nearly 800 vehicles sold.

Mr. Aulbur also inaugurated a modernised showroom of Rajasree Motors near Maradu here on Monday. S. Sivakumar, managing director of Rajasree Motors, said that more than 1,000 Mercedes-Benz cars had been sold in the State since 1996.

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