Joins league of full-range CV makers
The Intermediate Commercial Vehicle (ICV) segment ranging from 16 tonnes to 25 tonnes GVW is considered very important in commercial vehicle goods carrier movement owing to its potential to span across sectors like parcel logistics, e-commerce, fruits and vegetables, reefer movement, as well as heavy duty applications like construction, material movement, etc. The segment has been growing at a CAGR of 15-17 per cent.
“In the last couple of years, the total industry volume for ICVs has surged from 1 lakh units to 1.5 lakh units,” declared Mr. Vinod Sahay, CEO, Mahindra truck and bus and construction equipment divisions, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., at the unveiling of its new range.
Mahindra Furio is the culmination of the company’s four years of focused efforts from more than 500 Mahindra engineers, 180 suppliers, continuous feedback from transporters and an investment of Rs. 600 crores. It is also soon after the company broke even almost eight years after it entered the highly competitive commercial vehicle market.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Pawan Goenka, Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said: “The unveiling of the new Furio range of ICV trucks is a defining moment for our truck and bus business as we are set to enter a new orbit and become a full range commercial vehicle player. With Pininfarina-inspired design, the Furio is set to be a game changer for us and perhaps for the industry, giving the new truck one of the safest, most ergonomic and comfortable cabins that will set new standards. I am confident that just like the Blazo HCV series, the Furio range of ICVs will also set new benchmarks for performance, earnings and deliver better value to customers.”
Speaking at the unveil of the ICV range, Mr. Rajan Wadhera, President, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., said: “The Mahindra Furio bears testimony to Mahindra’s capability of bringing the best to Indian customers, since it is based on meticulously gathered customer insights. The launch of the Furio comes closely on the heels of the successful introduction of Mahindra’s HCV range of trucks, the Blazo, which also resulted in a substantial volume and market share growth for Mahindra. With the addition of this new range of ICVs, MTB will emerge as a complete trucking solutions provider in the Indian CV market.”
The need for Furio
According to Mr. Vinod Sahay, “Indian ICV customers have been longing for a truck which can deliver higher earnings, lower operating costs, better safety, improved ergonomics, a comfortable ride and, most importantly, a world-class ownership experience, as an ideal package. Our new Furio range is built precisely around these elements, and we are confident that it will soon be a preferred choice for ICV customers. At the Mahindra truck and bus division we have revamped our portfolio and offered assurances to our customers which, in turn, have enabled us to outpace the market growth. Going forward we are poised to redefine the way business is done in the ICV category and hope to have a significant share of that segment.”
ICV transporters expect Furio to improve their operating economics through higher mileage, low maintenance and more power for increased load carrying capacity. Keeping this in mind, the new mdi tech, ICV engine will be equipped with Mahindra’s fuelsmart technology to optimize fuel consumption. The highlight of this technology is the multimode switches to optimize fuel consumption to the load and road conditions. Apart from this, the mdi tech engine will be light weight and low friction to further enhance its efficiency.
Mahindra Furio is powered by new mdi diesel engine that produces 138 bhp of power and 500 nm of torque offering high torque at low rpms, leading to higher performance in both inter-city and intra-city traffic conditions. During its development, engine testing included two phases of accelerated testing of 8,000 hours each with different test cycles.
The Furio also boasts of metal bumpers and composite headlamps along with metal fenders. The vehicle provides better visibility around the corners, aiding comfort even for drivers in terms of safety. Uplifting the safety of the drivers and others on roads, the vehicle comes with 10-bar brake system which supports best stopping distance. The biggest brake with 360mm x 170mm dia enables both front and rear axles. The cabin also has a great interior storage space, RLC aero deflector and cornering lamps. Four outlets for blowers make the cabin 5 degrees cooler than any other truck in the same range. It also has two-way adjustable seats and deploys parabolic springs, rugged suspension and an anti-roll bar ensures stability, safety and better ride and handling.
The Furio is all set to join the 15,000 Blazos on road that, according to Mr. Sahay, ‘has established itself as the leader in fluid economy in CVs’ diesel and Ad blue put together. Of the 21 trucks to be unveiled, four trucks in the capacity of 11, 12, 13 and 14 tonnes were shown at the event in Pune, another two products of capacity 15 and 16 tonnes will be launched in Q1 of 2019 and a few more would be introduced before BS-VI regulation kicks in, in 2020.
Tested to the fore
Furio development began in 2014 with the product conceptualization process involving an in-depth interaction with over 500 customers across India to gain insights on current as well as latent needs, which provided rigor to the development process. This was followed by the quality function deployment methodology-based study for firming up the platform strategy, which in turn led to modularity of all major models.
The product development journey involved more than 500 Mahindra employees directly or indirectly. About 180 suppliers were involved in the project right from the conceptualization phase. Most importantly, the state-of-the-art cabin of the Furio was designed by Pininfarina, the renowned Italian design house, giving the new truck one of the safest, most ergonomic and comfortable cabins in the industry.
The Furio range of ICVs have been tested for over 17 lakh km on roads during the validation process and trials. Further, rigorous highway durability trials were undertaken across the ghats, other treacherous road conditions, cities and State highways (single and double lane roads), and high and low speed applications. Over 1,000 such performance tests were carried out.
Structural durability validation was accomplished for the equivalent of 10 years of vehicle service life, involving all 4 platforms. Further endurance tests such as sea level to high altitude trials and sub-zero to high ambient temperature trials were also undertaken.
The Furio ICV range will be manufactured at Mahindra Vehicles Manufacturing Ltd. in Chakan, near Pune.