Daimler India Showcases Its First BS6 Vehicles For The Indian Market

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles today gave us a sneak preview of its first Bharat Stage (BS6) compliant vehicles for the Indian market. The company has showcased its first BS6 truck, the BharatBenz 1217 tipper truck and the very popular Glider 12-metre coach. Daimler India was the first OEM to get BSVI certification for a heavy vehicle in India, and the company says that it has already sold over 1.4 million vehicles globally with EURO VI emission technology, which is equivalent to the upcoming BS6 tech.

Speaking at preview of the company's BS6 models, Satyakam Arya, Managing Director and CEO, Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), said, "Daimler's experience of already bringing 1.4 Million EURO VI trucks and buses on the roads means we are easily ready to transition our BharatBenz trucks and buses to BS-VI by the April 2020 deadline. With this head start, we will begin exporting India-built trucks by 2021/2022."

These new BS6 models come with the addition of an After Treatment System (ATS).

While the technical specifications of the engines haven't been released yet, however, compared to the BS4 compliant model, these new BS6 models come with the addition of an After Treatment System (ATS). The system essentially uses a series of components that cleans the diesel exhaust emitted by the engine before releasing it through the tailpipe to the outside air, and reduce the emission of harmful pollutants into the environment. In fact, Daimler says that its BS6 engine now emits 92 per cent nitric oxide (NOx) and 90 per cent less particulate matter (PM).

The company has made a total investment of around Rs. 500 crore to localise their EURO VI technology for India for making their products BS6 compliant. In fact, the commercial vehicle manufacturer has done about 20 lakh kilometres of testing, developed new facilities, and added over 1000 new parts to make this conversion happen. Daimler India also confirms that it was able to achieve a localisation rate above 80 per cent on its BS6 models, and aims to extend that to 90 per cent in the future.

The company has made a total investment of around Rs. 500 crore to localise their EURO VI technology in India.

Talking about export opportunities Arya added, "The transition to BS-VI opens up more opportunities to export fully-built vehicles, engines and parts to countries like Mexico, Chile and Brazil that will soon migrate to similar emission norms. This further strengthens India's position as a global production network for Daimler Trucks and Buses." The company will begin exporting its OM926 engine series internationally by 2021/22.

Daimler India aims to launch its BS6 vehicles by the first quarter of the 2020 calendar year, however, the company also says that their introduction depends on the availability of BS-VI fuel in India. As of now, BS6 fuel is only available in parts of Delhi and NCR, and it is expected to be available across India closer to the official deadline of April 1, 2020.