Vehicles for multiple applications showcased
Force Motors, the market leader in large vans category, showcased six smart mobility solutions on the Traveller to serve tomorrow’s India. A pioneer in the field of light transport that gave India iconic brands like the Tempo, the Matador and the Minidor continues with its founder’s vision of harnessing the latest technology, anticipating the changing requirements and developing appropriate solutions for India.
Inter-city luxury travel for up to 15 persons
The two star attractions at the show were the luxurious 15 seater Traveller Royale and the 9 seater Traveller Super. Both these vehicles come with factory fitted air conditioning, luxurious reclining seats, larger sealed glass windows, ABS, EBD and air suspension (offered for the first time in this category). The Traveller with its one tonne lighter pressed steel body, monocoque construction, outstanding structural Strength and unmatched durability will make these vehicles a game changer in small group luxury travel.
These will be a boon to Tour and Travel operators who are unable to offer luxury travel to the Tier II and Tier III city customers because operating the large 12m inter-city coaches are unviable. The Traveller range is powered by the proven Mercedes derived common rail engines, matching gear boxes with cable shift and molybdenum coated ground gears that offer unmatched performance and 10% better fuel efficiency than competition.
Intra-city Smart commuter for up to 21 persons
The 21 seater Traveller Smart Citibus is ideal as a feeder bus to and from the Metro stations in megacities like Delhi and Mumbai. This Traveller Smart Citibus will be the preferred mode of travel in smaller cities with population up to 5 lakhs. 90% of the 100 smart cities identified by the Government under the Smart Cities Mission fall in the “under 5 lakh” population category.
The 21 seater Traveller Smart Citi Bus meets all Urban Bus Specifications and comes with intelligent electronic passenger information system, driver operated jack knife doors, full standing height of 6 feet, wide gangway for standees making it best for intra city commutes. The main benefit of these buses are it will be viable to operate in smaller towns with low density routes and in congested areas where operating the large 12m buses are economically unfeasible.
Business Class Travel for High Value Cargo
Last mile goods movement has evolved from slow and inefficient modes to the faster but unsafe open body trucks. Anticipating the need for a safer, faster and more efficient transportation mode for high value cargo, Force Motors has developed a wide range of fully enclosed ready to use monocoque panel delivery vans. On display was India’s largest delivery van with 17 cubm (over 600 cub ft) internal space complete with sliding doors on both sides, in addition 270 degree opening twin leaf rear doors for faster loading / unloading. This delivery van is enabled for installation of live tracking and live video footage streaming facilities for enhanced safety.
Disaster Management and Life Support Solutions
Disaster and natural calamity strikes without a warning. Being fore armed is the best way to contain casualty. In addition with rapid development, urbanization, increasing vehicle population and growth of infrastructure like expressways, speed of travel has increased leading to high impact collisions with higher number of fatalities and critical injuries.
The Traveller First Responder Vehicle (FRV) and the Traveller Four Stretcher Advanced Life Support Ambulance will provide much needed support for disaster management and relief.
Traveller First Responder Vehicle
The Traveller First Responder as the name suggests will be the first to reach the site of accident and using the ‘state of the art’ fire-fighting and rescue equipment help extricate victims quickly. The First Responder is equipped with Hydraulic Cutters, Spreaders, Jacks, Chain Saws, and Cordless Saws. It also has on board a generator, compressor to power the hydraulic and battery operated tools including the telescopic lights and quick up ladder. Unlike most disaster management vehicles that are built on the heavy trucks that are slower and not very maneuverable, the Traveller First Responder on account of its compact size and powerful Mercedes derived power train will be able to reach the site earlier.
Traveller Four stretcher Advanced Life Support Ambulance
The Traveller Four Stretcher Ambulance can transport four victims at a time to the nearest hospital. Force Motors is the first to develop an ambulance that has four stretchers laid out on the same level enabling attending to all the four patients at the same time. The Advanced Life Support equipment installed ensures medical assistance in transit during the crucial golden hour and help save lives. It also has a vehicle tracking, navigation and surveillance facility for planning the route and monitoring progress. On board cameras can stream live video footage to the hospital control room so that they are fully aware of the patients’ condition and are well prepared by the time the ambulance reaches the hospital.
Extreme Off-roading
Motorsports is the testing ground for automobile makers. It is a matter of great pride that Force Gurkha clinched the top two positions at the first and second editions of the Rainforest Challenge, a top ten toughest motorsport event. The learnings from this will be incorporated in the future variants of Force Gurkha that will be introduced later this year.
Force Motors also showcased the newly developed advanced 3, 4 and 5 Cylinder BSIV compliant Common Rail Engines that will power its new generation SCVs, MUVs and LCVs.
It also displayed engines and axles produced for all Mercedes Benz Cars and SUVs made in India. Force Motors has been producing the engines and axles since 1997 and has supplied over 60,000 engines and 50,000 axles till date.
Inspired by this proven and successful arrangement, leading European premium car maker BMW has asked Force Motors to set up an exclusive state of the art facility to produce the engines for BMW Cars and SUVs being made in India. The company is proud to share that it has already supplied over 6000 engines since start of production in January 2015.
Force Motors has one of the largest computer aided design, development, testing, engineering and manufacturing infrastructure. The company is proud to have assisted many leading international automobile manufacturers in locally designing, developing and manufacturing Press Tools, Die casting Dies, Jigs, fixtures and gauges. Critical parts such as B-Pillar inner and outer dies and Critical Part dies for various international OEMS have been engineered and developed by Force Motors.
Jaya Hind Industries, the parent company, is one of the largest suppliers of aluminum castings like Engine Blocks, Cylinder Heads, Ladder Frames, Transmission Cases, Oil Pans etc., to leading Multi-National Corporations and Global Tier 1 Suppliers.