OREANDA-NEWS. May 13, 2010. Uzavtosanoat JSC and Daimler AG signed an agreement for the establishment of a bus joint venture in Tashkent. The new company will assemble coaches, intercity buses, city buses and midibuses. The contract’s closing is scheduled for the third quarter of 2010, reported the Official website gov.uz.

Deputy chairman of board of Uzavtosanoat Gairat Niyazov said Uzbekistan was pursuing an effective investment policy with attraction of the largest foreign partners in various sectors of economy. The favorable investment climate created in the country has allowed to create highly technological industrial capacities, which manufacture competitive production, he added.

In accordance with the agreement, Uzavtosanoat will provide the factory buildings to the new venture. Daimler Buses will deliver Mercedes-Benz chassis, while bodies will be built in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz’ long-standing partner, Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles (MCV).

The production capacities being created allow a minimum of 600 buses annually under full-scale production, with the possibility to gradually increase the volumes. The first batch of vehicles is to be delivered as early as September.

The products manufactured in Uzbekistan will include luxury coaches as well as intercity buses and low-entry city buses and midibuses, which will be sold under the Mercedes-Benz brand. All buses fulfill the Euro 3 emission standard which has been effective in Uzbekistan since January 2010.

It is envisaged that the joint venture will use advanced production technologies and will also localize automotive parts and components. The parties agreed to assist the JV in establishing its sales and after-sales network. In order to support export, it is planned to use the existing dealer networks of both Uzavtosanoat and Daimler in neighboring countries.

To date, Daimler Buses has sold around 1,000 buses to customers in the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent. All city buses sold over the past years were Mercedes-Benz Conecto vehicles.

Tashkent has a very well-organized local public transportation system, which operates Central Asia’s largest and most modern bus fleet on an extensive network of roads. The city’s existing fleet of Mercedes-Benz 0405 city buses is gradually being replaced with Mercedes-Benz Conecto vehicles.

“I’m delighted that we have taken another important step today in our efforts towards opening up growth markets,” said Andreas Renschler, member of the board of management of Daimler AG with responsibility for Daimler Trucks and Daimler Buses. “We have been selling Mercedes-Benz buses to customers in Uzbekistan, and in particular in Tashkent, since 1994. Today we have created the basis for also producing a wide range of buses in the country and for serving the neighboring growth markets with locally manufactured products.”

Hartmut Schick, head of Daimler Buses, said local production would significantly improve the market opportunities for Daimler Buses in Uzbekistan and Central Asia. “With Uzavtosanoat, we know that we have a strong, professional and reliable partner that knows the Central Asian markets inside out and has considerable experience in production and sales.”