Daimler Trucks' Chinese JV to build new plant

July 19, 2012: Daimler Trucks, the world's largest commercial vehicle maker, has said its Chinese joint venture will invest more than 1 billion yuan ($157 million) to build a new plant in Beijing. According to a Reuters report in Ward’s Auto, the plant is capable of building up to 45,000 engines per year. The plant which will be completed n 2014, will manufacture OM 457-type engines for Auman brand trucks.

In India, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV) has begun manufacturing trucks from a new plant at Oragadam, near Chennai. On June 21 this year, its first 25-tonne rigid BharatBenz truck rolled off the assembly line. The first product scheduled for market launch in September is the 2523 heavy duty truck with 230 HP, based on the Mercedes-Benz Axor platform. DICV’s light- and medium-duty trucks are based on the Fuso Canter series. All the products will be rolled out by 2014. DICV claims its trucks will deliver best-in-class performance, reliability and fuel efficiency. The Chennai plant has an initial production capacity of 36,000 units per year and is designed to allow an increase production to up to more than 70,000 commercial vehicles per year.

Images: Auman ‘GTL’ with OM 457 engine: The heavy duty truck Auman ‘GTL’ has been produced by Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co Ltd (BFDA) since July and will be available with the OM 457 engine as soon as the Chinese emissions standard ‘China IV’ is introduced.