31 December, 2007 : Soon India will have a line-up of top-end buses in addition to luxury cars. In order to meet the growing demand for quality transport, domestic and foreign firms are entering agreements to start production of top-end bus models for the Indian market in a big way.

The latest among the foreign manufacturers to eye the Indian market is the Swedish commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania AB, which manufactures and sells trucks in countries such as Europe and Latin America. The global giant has plans to enter the Indian market in a tie-up with Jay Bharat Maruti Ltd (JBML), a Gurgaon-based auto component manufacturer, to start rolling out a range of buses within the next 18 months.

The Swedish company is close to finalizing a joint venture with JBML, which had an impressive turnover of close to 520 crores in revenue that resulted in approximately 12 crores of net profit in 2006-07. Scania may look to open a manufacturing plant in North India to produce chassis and bus-body frames, but if the joint venture plans succeed then Scania will start production at JBML’s facility.

Currently, Tata Motors Ltd dominates the bus market with an estimated 60 percent market share. Tata also has a joint venture with Brazilian bus manufacturer Marcopolo SA to produce top-end buses. Therefore, entry to this segment and competition in it is just as challenging as that in the car market. However, the more the competition, the better the focus is on the consumer.