Scania Commercial Vehicles India rolled out its 1000th truck from the Narasapura plant near Bangalore. Anders Grundströmer, managing director, Scania India and senior vice-president, Scania Group, along with Richard Wardemark, director (Production and Service Operations), Scania India, flagged off the 1000th truck from the assembly line in the presence of senior Scania executives and employees.
Speaking at the function, Grundströmer said: “We inaugurated our truck facility in October 2013 and in less than three years we have achieved this commendable feat. All our products are premium, robust and offer unmatched Total Operating Economy (TOE), signifying our commitment to providing a strong base in India for sustainable transport system. Our success also drives the effort of making India a strong manufacturing hub, complementing the ‘Make in India’ campaign.”
Richard Wardemark said: “Our customer first approach has struck the right chords, and this principle has been a driving force in generating good business for Scania in India. Our customers benefit from our product’s performance and its innovative technology that offers a wide range of features in order to increase productivity and curtail operational cost for a sustainable and profitable business”.
The premium truck and engine manufacturer is the first truck maker in India to deliver 200 P 410 (8x4) mining tippers to BGR in March 2015, making it India’s largest single order to date. Another milestone is the certification of the R 580 as the first on-road puller in India; the R 580 with a V8 engine is the most powerful truck in the country. Other products that Scania manufactures in India include G 410 (6x2) tipper, G 460 (6x4) truck and, more recently, premium intercity Metrolink series of buses.
Scania CV India has a current production capacity of 2,500 trucks and 1,000 buses, and aims to double its capacity by 2020 with a target of selling 5,000 trucks and 2,500 buses annually. In the next five years, the company plans to expand its employee pool to 1,200 people at this facility.