The Hindu Business Line : `Next few years will see DaimlerChrysler on growth path'

DAIMLER Chrysler India's new Chairman designate, Mr Hans Heinrich Weingarten, the outgoing Chairman, Mr Helmut Petri, and the Managing Director and CEO, Mr Hans Michael Huber, could not ask for a better Christmas gift this year with the company celebrating its tenth year in the country next week and recording profitability for the fifth consecutive year following a turnaround in the year 2000.

Not many believed that the company could survive to do business in a market which is known to be highly cost-conscious and conservative in its spending habits and the latter factor, according to Mr Huber and Mr Weingarten, will continue to remain a challenge for the company.

"There is no doubt that India has the purchasing power but what we need to work at is to change the mind-set and actually get people to spend it in acquiring a life style," said Mr Huber.

"India is a very important market for us but right now China is our fastest growing market because the Chinese love to flaunt their expensive cars," said Mr Weingarten.

The Chinese market, incidentally, is expected to touch an estimated 25,000 cars annually in the next five years. Mr Huber, though, is determined to put the Indian market on top of the pile along with China in terms of priority for the parent company.

"We are still a fledgling company but we are profitable and stable and healthy and the next few years will see us on a growth path." DaimlerChrysler India will close 2004 with sales of an estimated 1,800 units and a profit of Rs 45 crore on a turnover of over Rs 500 crore.

So, what do the DCIL's top brass think will make the Indian car buyer dip into his wallet for some moolah to acquire a Merc? "Providing the widest portfolio of products is something we are working at continuously so that each member of the Indian family has a car that he/she can drive depending on the hierarchy," quips Mr Huber.

DCIL, meanwhile, is developing into a significant sourcing base for components for the car manufacturer's global operations, with the company now having 25 joint ventures for manufacture and export of auto components to various DaimlerChrysler plants in Germany.

Component exports out of DCIL have risen significantly from six million euros 1998 to 80 million euros this year and is expected to touch 100 million euros in 2006.

"It is not going to be a cake walk for the Indian component manufacturers because of intense competition from other market places around the world but we are growing a community of very quality conscious vendors and they have huge potential out there," said Mr Huber.

For the moment though, Mr Huber, Mr Petri and Mr Weigngarten are determined to grow business by focussing on customer service, which they maintain, has been the key to the company's growth in the last ten years.