Swedish firm Scania invests Rs 250 cr in first plant in Asia

Swedish logistics and transport solutions major Scania Commercial Vehicles India on Tuesday opened its first production facility in Asia, inaugurating a plant at Narasapura, near Bangalore.

The company has invested around Rs 250 crore in the facility, which is spread across an area of 35 acres. The plant will house two manufacturing units — one for truck assembly and another for buses. Scania began production of trucks at the new facility during June this year and production trials have already started for mining and off-road trucks.

Production of on-road trucks will be starting soon and the bus rollout is planned for the first quarter of next year.

Scania plans to roll out around 2,500 heavy haulage trucks besides 1,000 inter-city buses and coaches from the plant annually, with plans for the export markets as well. It will also employ 800 staff at the facility in the next five years.

Scania Global President and Chief Executive Officer Martin Lundstedt said, “India is important to Scania, owing to the great opportunities and skills it offers, and its prowess in IT, engineering and technology... Karnataka is an ideal location for the company’s manufacturing operations due to its proximity to our customers and its vast recruitment potential.”

The trucks manufactured at the new plant are in the form of completely knocked-down (CKD) units, with around 18 per cent localisation, which the company plans to increase to around 27 per cent by the next year. In terms of buses, the company is aiming at 100 per cent localisation by May next year.

Scania Commercial Vehicles India Managing Director Anders Grundstromer said, “Currently, we have focused on the South and West for our dealership expansion plans, opening sales and service outlets in Bangalore, Kochi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Krishnapatnam and Mumbai. We plan to have dealerships in 50 of India’s biggest cities.”