Bharat Benz Signs MoU with MoRTH for Delhi-NCR Commercial Vehicle Scrappage Scheme

Daimler India Commercial Vehicles (DICV), the wholly owned domestic subsidiary of global transport major Daimler Truck AG, has officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). This strategic partnership falls directly under the Government of India's newly introduced framework focused on replacing aging, polluting trucks and buses operating within the dense Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region).

The sweeping vehicle replacement program carries the formal approval of the Union Cabinet, which is chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Financially backed by the National Capital Region Planning Board (NCRPB) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), the initiative is being actively executed through the joint oversight of MoRTH alongside the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG). The primary objective of this inter-ministerial deployment is to rapidly accelerate mass commercial fleet modernisation, clamp down heavily on hazardous regional vehicular emissions, and aggressively promote the adoption of highly efficient, cleaner commercial transport solutions across the capital territory.

As a core manufacturing partner in this environmental drive, DICV's commercial vehicle brand, BharatBenz, has committed to providing a flat 8% discount on the standard ex-showroom price of its eligible new trucks and buses to any buyer purchasing a replacement vehicle under the scheme. Macroeconomic projections indicate that the government-backed project will cover an estimated 2.07 lakh commercial transport vehicles currently registered within the boundaries of the Delhi-NCR. This targeted total includes a massive bulk of approximately 1.91 lakh medium and heavy-duty trucks, alongside more than 16,329 mass-transit buses.

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According to Rajiv Chaturvedi, President and Chief Business Officer of Daimler India Commercial Vehicles, the vehicle replacement model serves as a monumental step toward cleaner regional logistics. He emphasized that the company aims to help logistical fleet operators seamlessly upgrade their equipment to modern, BS-VI compliant platforms that simultaneously boost daily corporate productivity, enhance real-world fuel efficiency, and lower overall long-term fleet operational costs.

The technical scope of the scrappage mandate applies specifically to all commercial vehicles adhering to older BS-IV or pre-BS-IV emission standards currently registered in the capital region. Under the guiding provisions of the legal layout, eligible truck and bus owners can trade in their aging assets to transition into highly advanced BS-VI compliant internal combustion models, eco-friendly cleaner fuel variants, or zero-emission electric commercial vehicles.

To maximise the commercial viability of this fleet transition for small and large transport operators, beneficiaries can stack multiple financial benefits. In addition to the flat 8% OEM discount guaranteed by BharatBenz, vehicle buyers will be legally eligible to claim a wide range of fiscal incentives introduced by both Central and State administrative bodies. These stacked benefits include attractive interest subvention programs on primary vehicle acquisition loans, complimentary fuel vouchers to offset initial operating costs, total waivers on standard regional registration fees, and substantial long-term concessions on statutory motor vehicle road taxes.

The collective roll-out directly mirrors the German commercial giant’s wider corporate roadmap to establish sustainable mobility solutions across India via high-tech, highly secure transport products.