German heavy vehicle manufacturer Daimler said Tuesday it planned to expand its bus division in emerging markets such as Russia and India to boost global sales.
"Daimler Buses aims in the long term to reinforce its position of number one worldwide by investing in new growth markets like Russia, India and China," a company statement said.
In Russia, "we are considering local production with the heavy truck division," the statement quoted bus unit head Harald Landmann as saying.
In China, "we are cooperating with partner licensees," he added.
In India, Daimler established a partnership in September.
But a spokeswoman told AFP: "We are looking for new partners" as well.
Unit sales in the bus division last year rose by eight percent to 39,000 vehicles, the statement said.
The division manufactures the Mercedes-Benz, Setra and Orion brands.
In Western Europe, where the overall market for buses remained stable, Daimler Buses increased unit sales by about six percent to 6,950 vehicles, boosting its market share slightly to 26 percent.
