Scania's Manufacturing Facility Rolls Out Buses Better Suited for Indian Roads

With an additional Investment of Rs 300 crore in its manufacturing facilities in India, the Swedish automobile company - Scania CV - has rolled out new range of buses designed especially for the Indian roads. The bus manufacturing facility in Narasapura near Bangalore after many years of research & development on Indian roads, claims to have overcome many of the safety related challenges faced by the other players in the market. 

One of the safety aspects was to over come the faulty design and by redesigning buses to have multiple emergency exits and also diesel gas fuel tank in the middle unlike its competitors. The other highlights are if any part of the bus experiences over heating then the alerts are triggered off to the bus driver.

The bus manufacturing plant’s current capacity is about 1,000 units per year and will employ 300 people in its first year. The company has also invested significant amount in Information Technology (IT) through its Indian partners Larson &Turbo Infotech.

Martin Lundstedt, President and CEO, Scania CV said: “Scania’s bus manufacturing facility in Naraspura, which we inaugurate today, is yet another milestone in our strategic plans for India. The vision for Narasupura is clear – it is a world class facility serving both the Indian market and becoming a hub for exports to other markets in Asia. Scania has and remains committed to bringing global technology and manufacturing practices to the countries in which it operates. Here in India, we will always strive to create a win - win situation for our partners. The goal is to draw on local talent and competence and combine it with global experience - making all our facilities part of our global network and in turn creating tremendous value across our global value chain. We see Naraspura as an important addition to our global operations and are committed to making it a success.” Lundstedt added “We also know that Naraspura’s success so far and in the future will be enabled by joint efforts of all stakeholders - local suppliers, workforce, state and local governments and we value this partnership “

In October 2013, Scania inaugurated its truck manufacturing facility in Narasapura. Scania has collectively invested around Rs. 300 crore in their truck and bus manufacturing facility. The current yearly capacity of the manufacturing plant is 2,500 trucks and 1,000 buses. The bus plant will also serve as an export hub for regions such as Asia, Middle East and Africa Over the next five years, Scania aims to double its production capacity by 2,500 units of buses and 5000 units of trucks and recruit about 800 employees by the end of 2017.

Anders Grundströmer, Managing Director, Scania India and Senior Vice President, Scania Group said: “Scania has been the frontrunner in promoting sustainable transport solutions globally. We entered India with a vision to provide sustainable transport solutions to the country and formulated various channels for promoting it. The establishment of our bus manufacturing facility plays a major role in realizing this vision for India. The facility will accommodate a state-of-the-art bio-gas unit, which will help in producing alternative fuels locally. With this bus plant we are looking at locally assembling buses and coaches in India, and stay true to the vision of Make in India.”

The manufacturing facility in India is Scania’s ambitious venture and a strategic move to drive their global vision to new heights. Scania’s commitment of setting up a large manufacturing establishment is in sync with India’s dynamic vision of making the country a new destination for manufacturing. “The Make in India campaign will facilitate the manufacturing sectors to grow rapidly and Scania will be a true ambassador of this campaign as we will enable large-scale manufacturing activities in India and strengthen employment” Mr. Grundströmer said.    

Klas Dahlberg, Senior Vice President Buses & Coaches, Scania Group, said: “The all new bus manufacturing facility in India is a great leap towards realizing Scania’s global vision. This facility will be used to its full capacity and we are looking at exporting the buses and coaches to the neighboring countries of India. The geographical position of India will act in advantage to Scania in connecting with Far East Asian countries, Africa and Middle Eastern countries. India’s new vision favours international players to set up manufacturing facilities here and we will accomplish our vision in India as well as globally.”

Scania’s promise of delivering sustainable transport solutions in India takes a major step forward with the bus manufacturing plant. The plant will house a bio-gas production unit and will locally assemble ethanol buses. The company will also broaden the scope for manufacturing more products powered by alternative fuels, which will catalyse sustainable development in India to a whole new level.