Scania Commercial Vehicles India launched its first-ever Scania Super Luxury Intercity Coach in India.
Anders Grundströmer, Managing Director, Scania Commercial Vehicle India, and Senior Vice President, Scania Group, launched the bus at a customer event in Surat, Gujarat, organised by Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd which commenced the start of its bus operations.
“This bus represents the future of the bus industry. India has been one of our key focus markets and the country presents some very unique opportunities for a commercial vehicle manufacturer like us,” Anders Grundströmer said.
Siddhi Vinayak Logistics Ltd is one of the largest fleet owners in India with over 5,975 commercial vehicles. It operates across diverse segments like steel, cement, tractors, chemicals and machinery and is a pioneer in newer segments of commercial vehicle chassis carriers.
Launched in February this year, the Scania intercity multi-purpose coach is for medium and long distance luxury travel for the Indian market.
Meanwhile, Scania is investing about Rs.250 crore in an industrial facility, 40 km east of Bengaluru, and is expected to employ almost 800 people in the longer term. The industrial operations will consist of final assembly of trucks with bodywork and building of complete coaches with bodywork. The head office of Scania’s Indian company, complete with a service workshop and a central parts warehouse, will be housed at the same site.
The Scania Regional Product Centre will also be the centre of the company’s commercial operations in India. Scania aims to sell about 2,500 trucks and 1,000 coaches per year in the Indian market within the next five years.
Scania has been represented in the Indian market since 2007, through a partnership with Larsen & Toubro Ltd, which currently operates about 10 Scania service workshops at various mining sites and is also a trusted partner for off-road including mining trucks.