http://www.nation.com.pk/daily/august-2006/1/bnews4.php
Mercedes-maker disowns new plant's report
from MONEM FAROOQI
LAHORE - The German manufacturers of Mercedes-Benz, DaimlerChrysler has outrightly disowned any manufacturing plant being setup in Pakistan by saying that they have nothing to do with any kind of such plant facility.
In a communication with The Nation the DaimlerChrysler officials termed it as illogical as the market did not have consistent demand for Mercedes products. The officials said that DaimlerChrysler’s strategy rests on four pillars of excellent products offering outstanding customer value, leading brands, innovations and technology leadership and global presence and networking.
The officials said that the vehicles, especially the cars, currently being offered in Pakistan would be far too complex for manufacturing without getting special requirements in a Completely Knocked Down CKD operation locally.
‘DaimlerChrysler has no intention to invest corporate money in Pakistan”, the officials said adding that the market consistency had been restricting them to come into Pakistan. However, they said that they had not contacted any Pakistani authority for the November last year.
Meanwhile the Punjab government is ready to acquire 1,200 acres of prime agriculture land in Sheikhupura district for the said plant to be given to a firm registered around six months earlier.
The official documents of the District Officer Revenue (DOR) Shekhupura made available to The Nation declared that acquisition of land was taking place under section 4 of the land acquisition act 1994 that made wishes of the public irrelevant in term of compulsory land acquisition.
However, the DOR Shekhupura did mention that the areas under acquisition was beyond the actual needs of the project in so far as it contains a gold course of 57 acres, hotel for 50.5 acres, a race track of 478 actres and area of 98.7 acres for future expansion.
On the other hand, the sources commenting on the requirement of manufacturing facility demanded by the a local firm on belief of Mercedes, said that the main installation in Germany which had been producing 2200 cars daily consisted of around 400 acres of land.
Talking about Pakistani market demand, the sources said that there were around 250 to 350 Mercedes cars being sold in the country whereas the requirement of the Pakistan forces for trucks were around 450 per year besides 1100 off road vehicles. The sources said the armed forces requirements had sufficiently been met now up till 5 coming years.’ so there is no question of erecting any assembly pant in Pakistan; the sources added.
The sources said that Mercedes-Benz has been working with the latest products and technological excellence entered in 1994, which was a 100 percent subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler group. They said that DaimlerChrysler the company was targeting 25 percent of the total turnover from Asia and with the intention of playing a definite role in the strategic forays in this part of the globe.
However, sources said that there are four automobile companies in the country at present, which were engaged in the business of assembling and progressive manufacturing of bus chassis.
what a shame.