Fuso-Based High Performance Medium-Duty Truck Line for India
Unveiled by Daimler India Commercial Vehicles

Kawasaki - Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers, today supported Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt. Ltd. (DICV) announcement and unveil of its truck line under the brand BharatBenz. In a special premiere spanning six-days at the Hyderabad International Convention Center, DICV is offering its future customers and brand partners including dealers and suppliers, an opportunity to experience BharatBenz trucks for the very first time. DICV is the Indian subsidiary of the world’s leading truck manufacturer Daimler AG, the parent company of MFTBC.

The BharatBenz trucks unveiled today includes 8 models of medium-duty trucks and heavy-duty trucks in the 9, 12, 25, 31 and 49 tons category, featuring various usages and applications. The medium-duty trucks based on the Fuso Fighter medium-duty truck chassis and Canter light-duty truck cabin features a four-cylinder 4D34 engine in two variants of 100 kW and 125 kW. It is available as 9-ton (rigid), and as 12-ton (rigid or construction). Market launch will start in the third quarter with the introduction of two models, followed by the launch of the entire product portfolio, consisting of 17 models by 2014, with first models to be launched in third quarter of 2012.

Under ‘FUSO 2015,’ Fuso’s 5-pillar strategy, the company aims to significantly increase its global unit sales, based on further optimization of market setup, additional growth in developing markets and leveraging existing networks within the Daimler Trucks group.

Fuso’s support to DICV ranges from entire vehicle design, CAE analysis, vehicle test and evaluation, localization of engine and transmission, and production technologies. In addition to this, the company is dispatching engineers to DICV and vise versa for support and training of engineers.

The trucks unveiled today are based on renowned platforms of the Daimler Trucks portfolio, the Fuso Fighter and Canter, and the Mercedes-Benz Axor, and re-developed and re-designed for Indian market specific conditions. This re-engineering has been the key for the development of the new products, which are 85% localized to cater exactly to the Indian customers’ requirements. In the first phase, BharatBenz trucks will be sold and serviced over a network of 70 dealerships, with plans to be extended to more than 100 dealerships by 2014.

Based in Kawasaki, Japan, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) is one of Asia's leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. In 2011, the company sold a total of about 147,700 vehicles including light-, medium- and heavy-duty trucks and buses. Daimler AG owns 89.29% of MFTBC shares and various Mitsubishi group companies own 10.71% of MFTBC shares. MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks Division of Daimler AG.