Tata Motors, India’s largest automobile maker, and the world’s fifth largest truck manufacturer, is working on alternate fuel variants of its Prima-branded trucks that will be commercially available in the medium to long term.
The company which revolutionised the Common Rail Direct Injection system technology in its trucks two decades back is also believed to be working on gas-injection systems in its future CNG-driven Prima trucks. Plans are also afoot to roll out diesel-electric hybrid run trucks and buses even though the company has refused to put a timeline on this.
On the sidelines of launching its Prima LX range in New Delhi, Mr. R. Ramakrishnan, Senior Vice President (Commercial), Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors, told MOTORINDIA: “Nearly 5 years back, we revolutionised the Indian trucking industry by coming up with our Prima range of ‘World Trucks’ which are run on diesel only. Now, we will go a step further by developing CNG variants of these models once the infrastructure (CNG stations) across the country gets a fillip.”
When quizzed on the hybrid variants of Prima, he maintained: “Although we are ready with the diesel-electric hybrid run vehicles (buses) which we have already showcased at the 2010 Commonwealth Games and other shows, we are not in a position to share a timeline on its availability. Although we have some prototypes ready, its mass-scale production looks a distinct possibility. If the Government offers some subsidies or incentives, we can definitely think about it.”
It may be noted that Tata Motors, in association with the Brazil-based Marcopolo, is already making CNG-run intra-city buses to Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) in Delhi and NCR. The Prima-range of trucks will, however, find different CNG configurations as they are generally plied on highways and expressways to deliver products at a faster and economical way vis-à-vis conventional products.
Meanwhile, Tata Motors has rolled out 10 new low-priced truck models from its Prima range in its bid to fight a heavy slugfest in the increasingly competitive CV industry. These include six new models of the Prima LX in the cargo segment – Prima LX 4928.S SRT, Prima LX 4928.S HRT, Prima LX 4028.S SR, Prima LX 4028.S HR, Prima LX 2523.T and Prima LX 3123.T and in the construction segment – Prima LX 2523.K, Prima LX 2528.K, Prima LX 3123.K and Prima LX 3128.K, all of which have different combinations of drivelines and load bodies, deployed across all possible applications. With the introduction of these models in BS-III configurations, the company now looks to tap the high volume multi-axle segment in the country.
The new Prima LX range of vehicles comes with a sticker price tag of between Rs. 18.50 lakhs and Rs. 32.50 lakhs and is around 20 per cent cheaper than the Prima range launched by it in 2009. It is to be mentioned that the automaker sells the existing Prima range of trucks at between Rs. 23 lakhs and Rs. 65 lakhs and has invested over Rs. 1,000 crores for the afore-mentioned World Truck platform which now spawns multiple product lines in various segments.
All the Prima-branded products are rolled out from the company’s existing facility at Jamshedpur where the current output stands at 65 to 70 per cent of the overall capacity. All the products are designed and developed at its Pune Engineering and Research centre where there are already 100 technical specialists working on next-generation buses and trucks.
Talking about the LX range, while addressing the media, Mr. Ramakrishnan observed: “Each of these Prima trucks launched today has been designed as per customer and driver requirements, with best-in-class design, performance, cabin comfort, safety and best-in-class TCO (Total cost of ownership), with strict adherence to emission norms. These trucks will be backed by Tata Motors ‘Power of 5’ special offerings that will help customers maximise the features of these new trucks to the optimum and further our dominance in the Indian market.”
He affirmed that the new trucks are geared to help customers meet a challenging economic scenario and will entice transporters to upgrade to more modern trucking systems.
“The Prima LX range is a world-class offering, adapted for Indian conditions, with enhanced technologies, and built to global standards with an ideal blend of technology and economy The Prima LX range will take us to the high volume multi-axle truck segment which constitutes nearly 65 per cent of the total trucks sold in the country,” Mr. Ravi Pisharody, Executive Director, Commercial Vehicle Business Unit, Tata Motors, said.
Talking about the company’s export plans, Mr. Ramakrishnan stated: “We have already started shipping out the existing Prima range to South Africa, the Middle East, the SAARC nations, along with Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and a few ASEAN countries. We would like to extend the LX range to these nations (in the next few months) where the demand patterns are quite similar to the domestic market.”
The roll-outs come at a time when the CV industry is itself going through a tailspin with the April-January 2014 industry data in the country showing a 26 per cent decline in the medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment sales at 160,841 units from 217,170 units in the year-ago period.
Prima LX Cargo range
The Prima LX 4928.S, for the first time, combines the power, driveability, reliability and performance of the Prima 49-tonne prime mover with the total ownership costs of a conventional vehicle. The vehicle comes with the high performance 267 hp Cummins ISBe 6.7 engine, Tata G1150 9-speed gearbox, world-class Prima cabin with optional AC, mechanically suspended seats, etc. The Prima LX 4928.S is offered in both single reduction tandem axles (SRT) or hub reduction tandem axles (HRT) options. While the SRT variant is designed for performance sensitive customers wanting high turnaround times combined for rated load and highway applications, the HRT variant is designed to cater to customers with high torque requirements combined with the need for higher ground clearance.
The Prima LX 4028.S brings the power, performance and features, including the optional AC, of the Prima LX 4928.S to the 40-tonne prime mover segment, while optimizing the total ownership costs for this segment. This product also comes with the option of single reduction (SR) and hub reduction (HR) axles. The SR option is meant for performance and time-sensitive customers plying mostly on highway and rated load applications, whereas the HR option is ideal for customers requiring high wheel torque as well as higher ground clearance.
The Prima LX 2523.T and Prima LX 3123.T are the first products to extend the Prima DNA into the multi-axle trucks category. These vehicles are the first multi-axle trucks in India to get the world class Prima LX cabin and all its features, including the 4-point suspension, mechanically suspended seats, optional AC and wide bunks. The Prima cabin, being the widest one available on multi-axle trucks in India, will give the driver benchmark levels of visibility, safety and driving comfort.
The Prima LX 2523.T is a three-axle truck with a GVW of 25 tonnes, and the Prima LX 3123.T is a four-axle truck with a GVW of 31 tonnes with twin steerable axles. Both come with a high performance Cummins ISBe 5.9 common rail engine generating 230 hp. This engine is derived from India’s most popular CV engine, the Cummins 6BT, sharing the platforms and most components.
Both models use Eaton’s ES-9106A DD gearboxes providing familiarity and reliability to the customers. The driveline upgrade also includes the heavy duty Tata RA 110 rear axle for high performance and reliability.
Prima LX Construction range
The new Prima LX range has been designed in line with the current industry requirement of high-performance and fuel-efficient tippers and is a result of Tata Motors’ continuous technological development and R&D efforts.
This range consists of tippers from 25 tonnes to 31 tonnes and power nodes from 230hp to 280hp, specially developed to extend the advantage of the Prima range to a much larger customer base, requiring lower power-to-weight ratios and more fuel efficient tippers.
The Prima LX range of tippers are rugged with an unmatched combination of power and economy. The range is powered by a Cummins ISBe electronic engine with common rail injection system that delivers best-in-class fuel efficiency. Fitted with Tata G 1150 9-speed gearbox, these vehicles are also coupled with heavy duty RA109 rear axle & a larger 430 mm diameter organic clutch for efficient and reliable power transmission. The complete driveline is configured to deliver best-in-class mileage.
This range also features engine diagnostic systems and monitoring of running parameters which help in efficient operation and enhanced vehicle uptime. The Prima LX world class cabin comes with a 4-point suspension for reduced noise and vibration levels, high level of safety and an optional AC that adds to driver comfort.
Additionally, all Tata Motors trucks are supported by the “Power of 5”, a set of innovative offerings, to enable Tata Motors to strengthen its customer support and engagement. These services are the Tata Alert highway assistance programme, Tata FleetMan for fleet monitoring, Triple Benefit Insurance, 4-year warranty and its extended service interval.