Pune: Mercedes-Benz India, in association with Sutlej Motors, launched its first luxury bus, the intercity coach in Pune on 1 September 2008. The Germany automaker said that the launch event themed 'Travel with the Star' will mark the beginning of Mercedes' bus business in India.

Currently the coaches will be available in a choice of 45-seaters and 36-seaters, which can be customised according to the customer's need. The coaches will be sold through the exisitng dealer network of Daimler India, though the company was also looking out for new dealers too, said Dr Wilfried Aulbur, managing director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India.

The luxury coach, priced around Rs80 lakh, willl be the only model in the luxury segment to roll out from the Mercedes stables in India for the next two years, said Harald Landman, head of Daimler buses. He said, the company would like to proceed step-by-step and study the Indian market carefully before expanding its product range in the niche luxury bus segment in the country. Currently, Volvo is the leader in the luxury bus segment in India.

Landman also said that the coach will use imported Mercedes-Benz components from its plant in Brazil. The body will be built locally by Sutlej Motors, guided by specifications and standards from Mercedes-Benz. The bus chassis will arrive as completely knocked down units (CKDs) and will be assembled at the new plant at Chakan in early 2009.

The 'Intercity Coach' sports the versatile Mercedes-Benz O 500 R / RF chassis, tested by Mercedez R&D team, has been proven across the global market. Daimler invests arround 1.3 billion euros in research and development every year for commercial vehicles and coaches more than any other company worldwide.

The 12-metre luxury bus is Euro III complaint and the OM 926 LA rear engine with 6 vertical cylinders, turbo-charged and intercooled delivers 225 kW (305hp) at a torque of 1200 Nm @ 1400-1600 rpm, giving it enough power to travel on the Indian highways, as well as the tricky and steep mountain routes.

The coach has a steel fuel tank with a capacity of 500 litres, made available to enable  long trips without bothering to refuel. The fuel tank placed just behind the front axle rests on a special platform and is fastened securely to withstand any kind of vibration.

According to Sunil Sawla, whose Mumbai-based travel and tour firm Neeta Travels has acquired 10 Mercedes buses, the advantage of the inter-city is its fuel efficiency of 3 km per litre, better than the Volvo's mileage of 2.5 km to a litre, which to commercial fleet operators translates into lower operational costs. However the actual performance would be judged only when the intercity hits the road on its commercial venture.

Operaors like Sharma Transports in Bangalore, Konduskar Travels in Kolhapur and Neeta, plan to price the tickets on these buses at a 15 -20 per cent premium than what the charge on other luxury buses.

Sawla plans to operate inter city operations from Pune to Mumbai and vice-versa with the tickets being priced 10-15 per cent higher than what he charges on his Volvo buses, catering to premium category customers willing to pay for higher-priced tickets.