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Daimler Buses in India with Sutlej Motors

This month Daimler Buses entered the luxury bus segment in India by launching the new Mercedes-Benz Intercity Luxury Coach. The

This month Daimler Buses entered the luxury bus segment in India by launching the new Mercedes-Benz Intercity Luxury Coach.

The coach features the O 500 R / RF chassis from Mercedes-Benz and its body is built by Jalandhar based Sutlej Motors.

The collaboration of Daimler and Sutlej Motors encompasses the development, production, marketing, sales and after sales of luxury rear engine coaches.

The Mercedes-Benz chassis will be manufactured by Mercedes-Benz India.

Mercedes-Benz India will handle Sales and After-Sales of the coaches.

At the official launch event in Pune, Harald Landmann, Head of Daimler Buses, along with Dr Wilfried Aulbur, CEO and Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz India, presented the keys to the first customers Sharma Transports from Bangalore, Neeta Tours and Travels from Mumbai and Konduskar Travels from Kolhapur.

“Being the pioneer in the bus business and world-market leader at the same time, buses from Mercedes-Benz will enable people in India to ‘Travel with the Star’,” says Harald Landmann, head of Daimler Buses.

“We are excited to enter the Indian Market with our premium products and we are satisfied that we found a local market-partner for our future business in this region.”

Managing director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, Aulbur says the group’s footprint in the Commercial Vehicles segment has widened with the introduction of Mercedes-Benz buses.
“Our coaches stand for the latest and best in technology, design, comfort, reliability and performance and have therefore enthusiastic response from our customers,” says Aulbur.

“The first customers M/S Sharma Transports from Bangalore, M/S Neeta Tours and Travels from Mumbai and M/S Konduskar Travels from Kolhapur will be ambassadors for the Mercedes-Benz brand.

“We shall start with pre-selected routes in Western and Southern India and look forward to expand our network significantly in the times ahead,” he says.

Daljit Singh Wilkhu, managing director of partner SutlejMotors says it is an honour to be associated with Mercedes-Benz India to bring to the Indian market the best quality luxury intercity coaches.

“For Sutlej Motors, this is a long awaited dream coming true and we along with Mercedes-Benz India and Daimler Buses take pride in launching a truly world class product for the Indian market.”

The bus market in India is witnessing a tremendous change – a revolution aided by government driven infrastructure projects which are dedicated to redefine the mass transportation industry in India.

Large scale projects like the NSEW corridor and the Golden Quadrilateral are already underway and close to completion.

As links between far-flung places strengthen, there is an increased demand for mass transit systems to move people with solutions which are reliable, robust and passenger oriented.
It is this need that the Mercedes-Benz buses will fulfil.

The Indian bus-market for buses over 8t GVW grew in 2007 by 34 percent up to 38,700 vehicles (28,800 buses in 2006).

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