Tata Motors has been already enjoying dominant share in the Indian Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle (M&HCV) sector. What are the new products it pitches to expand its business in the segment. Jaishankar Jayaramiah has details:
Indian commercial vehicle giant Tata Motors has introduced six new tippers for the mining and construction sector at Excon 2017, South East Asia’s largest construction equipment exhibition.
Tata Motors has launched first of its kind 4th generation ULTIMAAX suspension system for the HCV heavy-duty tipper range. The Ultimaxx suspension has been jointly developed by Tata Motors along with Hendrickson, a joint venture partner of Tata Autocomp, a global leader in suspension systems for commercial vehicles.
Ultimaxx rear suspension consists of heavy-duty beam with central pivot and combination of shear springs and progressive springs, which are the main load carrying components and are made of special proprietary rubber material. Progressive main springs carry greater portion of the load in vehicle. Its stiffness increases as the load increases without causing an abrupt change in ride characteristics, thereby providing a unique balance of empty ride quality and loaded stability. The use of rubber bushes in Front and Rear, eliminates the need for periodic lubrication.
Rajesh Kaul, Head, Sales and Marketing, Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors, said, “ This year our focus in Excon 2017 is on Mining and Road construction industry as there is a positive movement in macro-economic indicators in these segments. The products displayed here are equipped with globally renowned Cummins SCR technology, heavy duty ULTIMAAX Suspension System, factory fitted comfortable AC SIGNA cabins and light weight but stronger tipper bodies. Soon we will introduce two of our new vehicles in the market, designed to offer maximum vehicle uptime and enhanced driver comfort at a lowest cost of ownership.”
Rajesh Kaul : Tata Motors dominates in the Indian M&HCV market including the Tipper segment.
The company sold 73,640 vehicles in April-November 2017 period this year, accounting for 53 percent market share in the Indian M&HCV segment with the growth rate of 5 percent. In November alone, its sales jumped 53 percent year-on-year to 3,115 units.
It also proved its dominance in the construction and mining sector as it sold 15,644 vehicles in April-November, 2017, resulting in having 50 percent market share in the country’s tipper market. It may be noted that more than a half of sales of M&HCV comes from 25 tonne category trucks.
The new range of Tata vehicles showcased at EXCON 2017 expo includes PRIMA LX 3130.K 19 CuaM scoop tipper, PRIMA LX 2525.K 16 CuM Box tipper with Ultimaax suspension, PRIMA LX 3125.K 23 CuM box tipper, SIGNA 3718.TK 24 CuM box tipper, SIGNA 2518.K 7 CuM Transit Mixer with Bogie suspension and SIGNA 4923.S 14X2 CuM sideways tip trailer.
Dr. A K Jindal, Head – Electric Vehicles & Defence Vehicles, Commercial Vehicle Engineering, Tata Motors, said, “For the first time in India, heavy duty tipper applications have been developed with rubber bushings as against metal bushings used in the conventional suspension. This will reduce road shocks and improve driver comfort thereby enhancing productivity.”
Jindal : The Ultimaax suspension system will offer advantage of higher payload of approximately 250kgs due to low weight of the system over standard bogie suspension.”
Tata Motors CONSTRUCK range is supported by an extensive sales network of over 1800 touch points, and over 60,000 touch points for Tata Genuine Spares. On the highways of India, customers have access to a Tata Motors’ service touch point every 50 kilometers.
Its aftermarket services support covers 100 Mobile Workshops, and 250 On-Site Container Workshops. Kaul said the company is looking to double its Container Workshops in the next two years.
Since 2012, the company also provides Tata FleetMan Telematics, which offers, advanced telematics solutions thereby helping customers track and control vehicles anywhere in the country. It includes features like real-time fleet tracking, SMS and email alerts, Geo-fencing and remote unit management all designed to address pressing need of fleet owners. Today, around 60,000 vehicles have been deployed with this system across India and abroad.