‘ProfitTechnology+’ is a package of technologies and features ensuring industry-leading fuel efficiency, safety, comfort and reliability says Rajaram Krishnamurthy, Vice President, Marketing, Sales and Customer Service, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV).

New tenders are opening in the coal mining sector, how is this poised to impact the mining sector?
We know that one potential trigger for CV demand creation is mining. Commercial mining in the coal sector stands de-regulated from government monopoly. While this is a pre-existing policy of the government, the Finance Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) has used this opportunity to fast track the reform. Coal gasification and methane gas exploration will receive incentives. The government will spend Rs 50,000 crore to create infrastructure for transportation and export of coal after exploration.

These reforms are expected to result in a 40 per cent increase in coal production in India. Various reforms including the elimination of differences between captive and non-captive mining are beneficial for the development of mines and minerals exploration and production. Tippers and special applications, such as deep mining trucks, will see more demand as a result.

Apart from HCVs, we also see a decent rise in demand for MCVs and LCVs to help in the transport to warehouses and then from there on to individuals for sale.

This is one of the reasons we recently launched India’s first 5228TT on a 4×2 tractor. The 5228TT model is unique as it provides the benefits of a tractor-trailer but with decreased total cost of ownership. It has the load bearing capacity of a 6×4 tractor, but with lower fuel consumption. With the tough economic situation, customers will be looking for products that offer the most value. Our new BharatBenz 52 tonner sets higher benchmarks for the tractor trailer segment with improved revenue, fuel efficiency, safety and connectivity. That’s the kind of TCO customers want and that DICV provides.

What are some of the other sectors in mining you believe where private parties should be allowed to engage for exploration?
Mining is an important economic activity in India and produces nearly 88 minerals. India is one of the largest exporters of iron ore, chromite, bauxite, mica and manganese, and it is ranked fifth among the mineral-producing countries in terms of volume of production. The mining sector contributes nearly 2.4 per cent to India’s GDP.

While there has been private sector participation in mining, the government through its various public-sector companies continues to be the largest participant in the domestic mining industry.

Much of India’s potential mineral resources are yet to be fully explored. Earlier, government policies and legislation had largely focused on regulation of mines and minerals rather than on exploration and development. Taking cognizance of the stagnation of the mineral industry, various reforms have been initiated by the Indian government allowing for greater private sector participation in mineral exploration, mine development and maintenance.

The switchover to Bharat Stage VI (BS-VI) emission norms, has increased the product prices by 15-20 per cent, how has it impacted the sale of your mining portfolio products?
Thanks to a localization of more than 80 per cent, we are able to price our products very competitively. However, we do not sell on pricing but on a superior value proposition that our vehicles provide to the customer. Our new generation of BharatBenz CVs offers ‘ProfitTechnology+’, a package of technologies and features ensuring industry-leading fuel efficiency, safety, comfort and reliability. For example, customers will get better fuel efficiency from the gearshift advisory, PR air compressor, new turbocharger and, of course, the proven engine platform. For safety and comfort we have many features like a crash tested cabin, reverse parking assist, and air suspended seats to name a few. BharatBenz customers enjoy longer service intervals (60k) kms resulting in fewer dealership visits. The engine oil drain increases to 120 kms.

When it comes to connectivity, we offer peace of mind to customers with fuel monitoring, track and trace, real time alerts and better truck utilization thanks to our Truckonnect platform. This is backed by one of the best warranty packages in the industry with a six year warranty on power train and a three year warranty on vehicle, apart from offering attractive extended warranty programs. This gives customers a complete hassle free experience of owning BharatBenz Trucks.