Mercedes 2012 Annual Report Download - page 60

Asia
Successfully penetrating the growth markets. Daimler vehicles
and local brands are already part of the urban landscape of major
Asian cities.
There are good prospects for long-term growth in the vehicle
markets of the emerging economies. Daimler aims to take
advantage of this potential on its way to the top. The BRIC
countries — Brazil, Russia, India and China — still play the
most important role in the markets with the highest growth
rates. But the markets of other ambitious young nations are
also gaining importance.
Singapore relys on the Mercedes-Benz Citaro. In the future,
the Mercedes-Benz star will shine more frequently on the
streets of Singapore. Daimler Buses has once again received
a major order from one of Asia’s most important cities. By the
end of 2015, a total of 450 Mercedes-Benz Citaro city buses
from the EvoBus plant in Mannheim will be delivered to the
local public transportation authority of Singapore. Since fall
2012, the first 300 Citaro buses have been making Singapore’s
bus fleet, the biggest in Asia, fit for the future. All of the buses
feature ultramodern BlueTec technology and low-floor design
for easy entry.
Thanks to its regional presence and its country-specific
know-how in all vehicle segments, Daimler is ideally equipped
to serve the upward trend in the new markets. For example,
Mercedes-Benz SUVs are becoming increasingly popular in
Asia. As a result, since 2012, the M-Class has been produced
not only at its main plant in Tuscaloosa but also in India,
Thailand and Indonesia for local markets. Starting in mid-2013,
the final assembly of the GL-Class will be carried out in India
and Indonesia. Since December 2011, the GLK compact SUV
has been rolling off the assembly line not only in Bremen but
also in Beijing.
The BharatBenz truck model offensive in India. There is a
strong demand in India for high-quality and economical trucks.
In response, the successful market launch of the heavy-duty
BharatBenz truck in fall 2012 was quickly followed by the start
of production of medium-duty trucks in Chennai. Daimler’s
subsidiary in India, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV),
has thus expanded its range of vehicles by adding a number of
models. By 2014, DICV will have launched a total of 17 Bharat-
Benz truck models on the market. These models will be based
on Daimler Trucks platforms and specially designed to meet
the requirements of customers in India.
w www5.mercedes-benz.com/en/vehicles/buses/
w daimler-indiacv.com
w daimler.com/company/daimler-worldwide
“In my opinion, the brand name says it all!
‘Bharat’ stands for my country, India, and
‘Benz’ denotes the state-of-the-art tech-
nologies from Daimler.”
Omprakash Singh, Head of Corporate Human Resources,
Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd.
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