Scania -The Swedish truck and bus maker

Plans to roll out completely knocked down truck from Bangalore

Mumbai, Nov. 28:  Scania is banking on India as one of its key growth drivers as it targets sales of 150,000 vehicles annually this decade.

The Swedish truck and bus maker wrapped up last year with sales of a little over 80,000 units globally.
It will now have to contend with a weak Europe (traditionally its strongest market) and step on the gas in emerging economies.

“This is where Asia will play a big role to attain this peak production level of 150,000 vehicles. We need to succeed in the Indian market and establish Scania as a premium brand in niche segments,” Henrik Fagrenius, Managing Director of the India operations told Business Line. The products, which will play a pivotal role, include heavy trucks and high-end luxury buses.

Scania has been around in India for over five years in a distribution partnership with Larsen & Toubro. The vehicles are largely used in the mining sector.

In early 2010, the top management in Sweden wanted to know if something more could be done in India, especially in the trucks and logistics space.

The company now plans to roll out its first CKD (completely knocked down) truck from its Bangalore plant by April.

“We are only in the heavy space and do not intend to change our strategic focus. Bangalore offers easy access to the rest of India,” Fagrenius said.


“Our focus is niche which means high quality products. We have ancillary suppliers in India already meeting our global needs and this role will be enhanced in the years to come,” Fagrenius said. Till then, the business model will be a mix of CKDs and direct imports since investing in engines involves big money and needs to be backed by volumes.

Scania is part of the Volkswagen fold which includes German truck maker, MAN. Both companies have big plans for India and there are already talks doing the rounds of potential synergies in production and R&D. Substantial savings are also expected in the procurement space.

By the end of the day, though, Scania and MAN will retain their exclusive identities in India.
“We will remain staunch rivals at the front-end,” Fagrenius reiterated.

Scania will also pay emphasis to drivers in its India blueprint.

“They deserve a better deal and this will remain top priority in our business plan. Drivers put in long hours and need to be comfortable,” he said.