After its successful entry into long-distance inter-city bus segment with its 2-axle and 3-axle coaches, Mercedes-Benz on Friday announced its entry into the city bus segment in India by launching the City Bus. Mercedes-Benz India (MBIL) also inaugurated its City Bus manufacturing facility at Chakan in Pune. The low-entry City Bus is powered by OM 926 diesel engine with 252 hp of power. The base version is priced at Rs.90 lakh, ex-factory Pune.
The company had announced a capital investment programme of Rs.600 crore at its Chakan facility to house its passenger car, commercial vehicle production and paint shop. The passenger car line has a capacity of 10,000 units per annum while the commercial vehicle line can make 1,200 trucks / buses per annum. The paint shop would be completed this year.
Mercedes has tied up with its global body-building partner MCV to jointly build the City Buses. MCV will build the bus bodies at the new facility, set up next to MBIL's Chakan plant. The bus body building plant has an annual capacity of 900 units.
Hartmut Schick, Head of Daimler Buses, said, “Our entry into city buses will enable more and more people to ‘Travel with the Star'. We will participate in the Indian market growth by expanding our bus business with a superior-quality low-entry city bus for the Indian market.”
Daimler also announced the appointment of Markus Villinger as the head of Buses for India. According to Mr. Villinger, “India is a fascinating market and there is a rising demand for robust, reliable and efficient city bus transportation. Our production line at the Pune plant combined with body-building from our captive partner, MCV, will ensure our uncompromising standards of quality are maintained in India.”
Keywords: Mercedes-Benz City Bus
@Mohan. Seems like u spend too much time on commuting in bus, however i dont agree wid ur comment. KSRTC has worldclass services,and Volvo buses in india wer 1st inroduced in Karnataka. to add on to that. KSRTC also has Mercedes Multi Axle,operating through out karnataka.Apart from daily traveling needs KSRTC has VAS including WI-FI,i am sure very few states in india has these luxurious Services
Will KSRTC,Kerala State Road Transport Co-operation introduce them in the state?.Honestly tired travelling in those dirty,stinking,unsafe buses for a very long time.I am sure the people of the state deserve something really unique for their daily travel needs.
Wow, this is the bus needed for urban transport with pneumatic lowering of the entrance to allow passengers to enter easily.Wonder which city in India will be the first to receive these beutiful buses. Let us hope that the buses will be maintained and kept clean and can be used for many years of comfortable travel.
This is an awesome looking bus. I'm sure the performance and safety would match its looks. People traveling in such a quality bus, should also make sure that they perform their respective jobs in an equally quality fashion. I wish every aspect or fabric of our society stands tall for style and elegance.
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