Chennai / Mumbai - Daimler India Commercial Vehicles Pvt Ltd (DICV) of Chennai, a subsidiary of the Daimler AG, in Mumbai last month unveiled no fewer than 12 all-new BS VI-compliant medium and heavy-duty BharatBenz-branded trucks and buses, which have been fully updated inside and out, said the company. All models are available to order today but delivery, warns DICV, will depend on regional availability of the right quality fuel. (The sulfur content in diesel fuel needed for BSVI engines is 10 parts per million (ppm). With the introduction of BSIV three years ago, the maximum permitted Sulphur content in diesel fuel for those engines was 50ppm of Sulphur.  This means the shift from BSIV to BSVI translates to five times the reduction in Sulphur content, which is a considerable reduction. RACE Research suggests that the fuel industry in India has made the necessary investments, however, to upgrade their refineries accordingly in order to produce the low Sulphur fuel required by the BSVI engines. The fuel companies are proposing an increase of some USD0.02/litre at the pumps over the price of the current BSIV fuel. Availability of BSVI compliant fuel is currently only available in the Delhi/NCR region, but the government claims it will be available across the whole country).

This new generation of trucks and buses premiered in Mumbai last month with the slogan ‘profit technology+’, represents an investment of some USD72m spent on the BSVI transition, developing new facilities and on the production and sourcing of more than 1000 new parts. DICV says it leveraged Daimler Trucks’ global network of technological expertise to quickly and efficiently localize proven Euro 6 technologies for use in the Indian market.