Daimler, the German automaker best known as the parent company of Mercedes-Benz, is planning to run its trucking division, BharatBenz, located in Oragadam, an industrial town in Chennai, India, on 100% renewable energy by the end of next year.
Our target is, by next year, we will have the first commercial vehicle plant in the world which is totally sourced by renewable energy,” Marc Llistosella, Head of Daimler Trucks Asia, told media. The 400-acre facility is already relying almost entirely on renewable energy by using wind power to cover 57% of the plant’s energy demand. Daimler doesn’t own the wind turbines, but draws the energy from a provider that runs wind farms in the south of India. Daimler has set up solar panels at the facility, but they only cover 16% of the facility’s overall energy consumption.
The Daimler trucking unit has capitalized the most on the stricter emissions standards, allowing it to catch up with Indian trucking giants like Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland who have been slow in implementing the new technology. Since its launch in 2012, Bharatbenz has sold over 50,000 trucks, making it a formidable contender against legacy India-based truck companies like Tata Motors.