Mercedes-Benz trucks will now be ‘made in Pakistan’

BERLIN: German Automaker, Daimler AG has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Logistics Cell (NLC) to set up a manufacturing unit of Mercedes-Benz trucks in Pakistan.

In a statement released by NLC, the company confirms that Daimler AG will locally assemble Mercedes-Benz Trucks in Pakistan and marks a major shift in the logistics and transportation industry’s preference towards European manufacturers.

News report further confirms that Major General Mushtaq Faisal, the director general, and Zia Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of NLC Motors signed the MoU on behalf of NLC. While head of the executive committee, Mercedes-Benz Trucks, Klaus Fischinger, and Dr Ralf Forcher, head of sales, were present to sign the MoU.

Major General Faisal further said that this is a historic moment for Pakistan’s commercial vehicle industry. A report quotes him saying “The local assembly of Mercedes‐Benz trucks would prove as a strategic opportunity that would leverage the modernisation of Pakistan’s logistics industry,” said the official. Pakistan government has promised to give more incentives in its Auto Development Policy 2016-21 and these locally-assembled Mercedes-Benz trucks would be sold at competitive prices.

This is also a huge move for Pakistan with the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) coming up, Daimler seems to have invested at the right time to make the most of Pakistan’s logistics movement to China.

In an IANS report, Dr Ralf Forcher, head of sales at Mercedes‐Benz Special Trucks was quoted saying “Pakistan’s infrastructure and construction sectors have registered significant growth in recent years, giving a boost to the logistics industry that, in turn, means increased demand for commercial vehicles.”

The demand for Commercial vehicles in Pakistan is set to go up with CPEC and a new network that links Pakistan’s seaports in Gwadar and Karachi with Northern Pakistan.