Volkswagen group owned MAN trucks which entered the Indian market through an alliance with the Force Motors in 2006 will shut down its operation in India by October this year. In colabration with force motors the company manufactured and sold premium MAN trucks in the country. A manufacturing plant was also setup in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh. The company will be closing down only after delivering all the trucks.
MAN is already looking for a buyer and the future of the current employees too has been chalked out. While the employees working at the company’s Pune Corporate office and regional offices have been given the option of Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS), the future of the factory’s employees will be decided only after the sale of the plant.
Even though the manufacturing plant is shutting down, MAN will still have its after-sales service network running. The decision to shut its India business has come on the back of plummeting sales. The company managed to sell only 2000 units of its trucks per year whereas the plant was designed to produce around 12,000 units.
MAN Trucks India will however continue to function as an R&D centre for their global products. Their sister company Scania also exited the Indian bus market to focus only on its truck business. MAN also happens to be the second major company to exit the Indian market after General Motors stopped functioning in India a year ago.
