Daimler Looks to Expand Market Base by Reaching into New Categories
Published On Apr 06, 2016
Daimler is a marque that dominates the commercial vehicles sector in the European markets. The company had attempted to expand its footprint, establishing a subsidiary here in India to conduct operations in the heavy-duty commercial vehicle area.
Despite facing tough competition from deeply entrenched local brands such as Tata and Ashok Leyland, the Bharatbenz marque rose to a major status within a few years.
According to Erich Nesselhauf, managing director for Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, the company had begun to exceed its sales targets within three years of inception. The company closed 2015 with a total sales volume of 14,000. Its market share had hiked from 6.2 percent to 7.3 percent in the heavy-duty trucking segment.
“2015 was a very successful year for Daimler in India, be it for domestic market or exports. The company's domestic sales grew by 30% and exports doubled. We are adding capacity on one hand and adding new products in our portfolio, we will widen our range further - we can go up and we can go down,” said Nesselhauf.
The corporation has now outlined a plan to propel it forward, by taking its business to new areas in the field. It plans to broaden its product range, introducing new categories in its offerings as well. This would provide a suitable basement for forcing back Tata and Ashok Leyland and improving its market position.
The firm plans to begin tapping into the light truck space, rolling out vehicles in the 5-7 tonne range in a few years. This move would help to garner more sales for the company, roping in an additional 2000 units of sales per month. Along with this, the brand would consolidate around nine percent of the entire truck market in India. It would then use this as a cornerstone to boost its position in nearing markets as well, exporting the new trucks to other markets under the Fuso label.
The firm envisions a robust 40 percent growth in sales in the coming year, due to heavy demand for its Fuso models.
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