Daimler India announces 14 new launches for 2024, CEO Arya expects market recovery post elections

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles has announced the launch of 14 new products in 2024, including a completely new range of long-haul rigid trucks and a whole new range of construction trucks.

Satyakam Arya, MD and CEO of Daimler India, in an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, stated that these launches are expected to significantly change the fleet-level fuel efficiencies in the market.

The company also plans to introduce a 12-speed Automated Manual Transmission (AMT) from its global portfolio, a technology that has been delivered to more than half a million customers worldwide.

Arya said, “2023 was a great year for the commercial vehicle industry in India, the truck market had a growth of 10%, and the bus market had a growth of 70%.”

However, he noted that 2024 has started differently, with the medium and heavy commercial vehicle industry going down by about 10 to 11% in the first two months.

Arya expects the market to recover only after the general elections, with a strong third and fourth quarter. “Post the elections we expect and the market will come back very strong,” he added.

The company has announced the launch of 14 new products in 2024, all of which will be available before the end of the next quarter. This includes a completely new range of long-haul rigid trucks with a renewed powertrain to increase the total cost of ownership (TCO) benefit to the customer.

A significant announcement was the launch of the 12-speed AMT in India, a Mercedes Benz AMT, which has been delivered to more than half a million customers around the world. “We believe this will completely change the paradigm of the fleet level fuel efficiencies we have seen in the market,” Arya said.

On the topic of powertrains, Arya stated, “As of now, quite a substantial portion of our investments go into Diesel Powertrain because that is the main powertrain in use. But going forward, we will step by step switch our investments to electric or hybrid.” He believes that diesel still has a long life until the switch to decarbonisation.

Arya appreciated the government’s efforts in bringing PLI or EV-related policies like FAME one, two, and now FAME three. He believes these will go a long way in increasing the adoption of electric vehicles. He also emphasised the need for incentivisation to encourage a sustainable adoption and switch to electric vehicles.