REWIND 2014

SML Isuzu unveils XM Series

SML Isuzu upgrades its product portfolio with the launch of its XM Series of trucks and buses.

 ‘Pro’ year for VECV

2014 was a year of the Pro Series for VECV. Unveiled in December 2013, the game-changing Pro series range of trucks and buses was launched across the country in a phased manner during 2014, making waves with its new benchmark-setting performance and features.

BharatBenz tractor-trailers out

DICV completes its initially-planned product portfolio with the launch of three tractor-trailers and a construction-mining tipper.

Ashok Leyland launches Captain range

Ashok Leyland launches the Captain series of next-generation heavy commercial vehicles. The Captain 2523 tipper was the first model, among other tippers, tractors and haulage vehicles, to hit the market.

Dana India Technical Centre

Dana opens new technology centre in Pune to offer world-class engineering support to OEMs in the light vehicle, commercial vehicle and off-highway segments in the country. The Dana India Technical Center is the company’s 13th facility in the country.

Mahindra unveils Traco & Truxo

Mahindra Trucks and Buses Ltd. (MTBL) launches the TRACO 49 tractor-trailer model and the TRUXO 37 haulage truck to further strengthen its product offering in the HCV segment.

Auto Expo 2014 – double delight

The country’s largest auto show, Auto Expo, is held at two separate venues with the Motor Show happening at Greater Noida and the Component Show at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, both turning out to be very successful. The Motor Show turns out to be an international spectacle attracting a record number of 5,61,000 visitors during the seven days from February 5 to 11 and the Component Show, held from February 6 to 9, is also a runaway success, as it provides a perfect platform for quality business discussions.

JBM’s bus foray

JBM Group, leading auto component manufacturer, makes a big foray into bus manufacturing by launching ‘CITYLIFE’, a low-floor bus specially designed for intra-city travel in the country. Set up at a total investment of Rs. 500 crores, the bus is being manufactured locally by JBM in technical collaboration with European bus-maker, BredaMenarinibus.

Scania’s Auto Expo debut

Scania makes its Auto Expo debut showcasing its R500 6×4 truck, P410 8×4 mining tipper with 20 cu. m. tipper body, G410 truck and Metrolink coach, while also launching its Fleet Management Service in the country.

Amalgamations-Valeo inaugurates new clutch facility

Amalgamations Valeo Clutch, the joint venture between the Amalgamations Group and Valeo of France, sets up a new facility for clutch manufacturing at Oragadam near Chennai.

Tata Prima LX range arrives

Tata Motors launches the much-awaited Prima LX range, making the world-class truck platform more affordable for customers. The new range included 10 trucks in total – six in the cargo segment and four in the construction segment.

BharatBenz buses coming up

DICV lays the foundation-stone for its new Rs. 425 crore bus plant adjacent to its existing truck facility in Oragadam near Chennai. While its rear-engine buses will continue to be branded Mercedes-Benz, new front-engine buses will be made at the facility under the BharatBenz badge. The first bus from the facility is expected to roll-out by Q2 2015.

Volvo brings UD brand to India

The Volvo Group signals its intention of expanding its presence in the emerging bus markets by launching UD buses for relevant global markets around the world, beginning with India. The move is a strategic one for the Volvo Group as it aims to develop and lead the ‘value’ segment across the globe with the ‘UD’ brand while maintaining the ‘Volvo’ brand at a premium level.

T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship

Tata Motors organizes the country’s first-ever T1 Prima Truck Racing Championship at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. Twelve Prima trucks upgraded for racing action scorch the tracks in high speed as the event adds a new dimension to trucking in the country.

Continental gets TBR-ready

Continental Tyres begins production of truck and bus radials at its Modipuram facility. The move completed Continental Tyres’ first phase of consolidation in India, which began with the acquisition of Modi Tyres in 2011.

ZF announces new Pune plant

ZF Friedrichshafen AG steps up its commitment to India with the construction of a new plant in Pune. The location unites the company’s car powertrain and commercial vehicle technology business units as well as ZF Services in India under a single roof. Additionally, it will be home to the headquarters of the engineering and administration of ZF India Pvt. Ltd.

Tata goes Ultra

Tata Motors launches its new intermediate and light commercial vehicle (ILCV) truck range – Ultra. The new modular platform comes as an important addition to the market leader‘s product portfolio.

Isuzu D-Max hits Indian market

Isuzu Motors India launches its India-made version of ‘D-Max’, one of the largest selling pick-up trucks in the world. Comprising three models with two cabin options and two deck options, awareness about the D-Max range was aggressively spread across the country, evoking good response during its first year in the market.

Scania takes ethanol route

Scania hands over the keys of India’s first ethanol-fuelled city bus to the Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) for trial runs in the city. The eco-friendly bus could pave way for India to make a huge leap in emission levels by directly reaching BS V from the currently-dominant BS III levels.

Apollo Tyres goes to Hungary

Apollo Tyres confirms Hungary as the location for its green-field facility in Eastern Europe. The company will invest Euro 475 million over the next five years to set up the facility in the new industrial zone near Gyongyoshalasz, Hungary.

ACMA meet calls for Indian auto suppliers to look global

The 54th Annual Session & National Conference of ACMA focuses on ‘Global Competence of Indian auto suppliers’. Eminent speakers from the auto industry share their views on the worldwide potential available for Indian suppliers, exuding optimism amidst a recovering automotive industry in the country.

Automechanika Frankfurt continues breaking records

The 23rd Automechanika show in Frankfurt once again proves to be an outstanding spectacle for innovations from the international aftermarket. The fair attracted around 140,000 trade visitors from 173 countries, one in four of them from the workshop sector. On the exhibitor side, the event set a new record with 4,631 companies from 71 countries.

SIAM convention brings back optimism in the industry

The 54th SIAM Annual Convention saw Mr. Anant Geete, Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, assure unconditional support from the central government to the automobile industry. The Chief Guest Mr. Geete tipped the next five years to be a golden period for the India automotive sector while his colleagues from the government and other auto industry veterans echoed his views, helping spirits go up among industry stakeholders.

IAA Commercial Vehicle show drives the future

The 65th edition of the IAA Commercial Vehicles show in Hanover, with its ‘Driving the Future’ slogan, witnesses 322 world premieres in different fields within the commercial vehicle space. The show stamped its authority as the largest and most attended commercial vehicle fair globally.

BharatBenz attracts global attention

BharatBenz gets global attention with Daimler showcasing its new BharatBenz 3143 concept vehicle along with its Fuso FJ 2528 R left-hand drive version, both designed and developed in India, at the IAA show. The move signaled Daimler’s growing focus on the Asian market, India in particular, as part of its Daimler Trucks Asia strategy while it also reflected its endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make-in-India’ vision.

Daimler Future Truck 2025

Daimler takes the wraps off its Future Truck 2025 (FT 2025), the world’s first autonomous driving truck. The FT2025, a marvel in terms of design and technology, has sparked off discussions about autonomous driving being commercially viable by 2025.

Meritor India’s global competence showcased

Meritor showcases its versatile new ‘made-in-India’ 10X drive axle at the IAA, throwing light on Meritor India’s globally-competent capabilities in terms of R&D, design, development and engineering.

Volvo Trucks raises bar with new truck range

Volvo Trucks unveils its new truck range for the Indian market. The new Volvo FH, Volvo FM and Volvo FMX raise the bar with remarkable performance and features, and are the most technologically advanced trucks in the country by far.

Tata Motors completes 60 years of trucking excellence

Tata Motors celebrates 60 years of undisputed leadership in the Indian truck industry. The occasion also marked 60 years of operations of its Jamshedpur plant from where the company’s first truck had rolled out in 1954. Over six decades, Tata Motors has adapted to changing market conditions, facing stiff competition in the way, managing to maintain its dominance in the trucking domain.

JCB India establishes largest manufacturing footprint in India

JCB India, the country’s largest manufacturer of construction equipment, inaugurates two new facilities in Jaipur. The new plants, JCB’s fourth and fifth in India, become its single largest manufacturing footprint in the country. An investment of nearly Rs. 500 crores has been earmarked in phases for establishing the green field facility spanning over an area of one million sq. feet on a 115-acre land.

20,000th DICV truck rolls out

DICV ends 2014 with an important milestone by rolling out the 20,000th truck from its Oragadam plant. Having reached the landmark in just two and a half years since start of production, BharatBenz has penetrated well into the market, overcoming challenging market conditions, thanks to its robust product offering, backed by its well-planned and perfectly-executed strategy for the Indian market.