Daimler Trucks will buy out Indian joint venture partner Hero group and pay 16 million Euros for the remaining 40 percent stake in the joint venture. The company also intends to invest more than 700 million Euros and eventually make an entry into the sub-continent for the commercial vehicles using India as its hub. Daimler referred to India as "a key to a completely new generation of products.’
"I really regret the Hero Group's decision, but Daimler Trucks will nonetheless enter the truck volume market in India," said Daimler Trucks chief Andreas Renschler in a statement on Wednesday. "Nothing has changed regarding our plans to manufacture trucks in Chennai. I'm counting on continued good relations with the Hero Group, whose expertise regarding the Indian market is very important for us."
Hero Group was forced to leave the joint venture due to dwindling finances and will now focus on its core business of two-wheelers. The two partners had originally planned to divide the investment in proportion to the size of their stakes.
