Veera Vahana, a well-known bus body builder in the country, announced its arrival in the fully-built vehicle space with its maiden city bus that has been completely manufactured in-house at its Bangalore facility. The vehicle, named VR2 LE, is a BS-IV complaint, diesel-powered premium low-entry city bus with a host of features and high-end specifications, fully complying with the new bus body code regulations. With major aggregates sourced from various renowned manufacturers – Euro-IV compliant 285 hp Cummins engine, Allison 3700 series automatic transmission, ZF rigid front axle, second generation ECAS suspension system, and generation-3 disc brakes with EBS from WABCO – the chassis has been completely designed and developed indigenously.
With a power-packed offering, Veera is confident of making a mark in the premium city-bus segment. Says Mr. K. Srinivas Reddy, Managing Director, Veera Vahana Udyog Pvt. Ltd.: “We wanted to offer a world-class product made-in-India which is why we have developed our bus as per global standards equipped with the best possible aggregates. We have tried to address all areas which were missing in the existing products and are confident that the vehicle will offer a good value proposition for our customers. The chassis development has been done completely in-house and we have used the best material in building the chassis.”
Being a premium product, Veera aims to sell around 50 units annually and has priced it almost 20 per cent less than competition in the segment. In addition to the unfailing aggregate, the vehicle has specific USPs like PTO-driven hydrostatic cooling system, double barrel steering system, wheel-chair ramp from Hübner, emergency door on the right-side and completely fire-retardant interiors, making it an excellent package when it comes to performance, safety, comfort and total cost of operation.
“Since all the aggregates come from world-class suppliers and are locally made, the maintenance cost will be lower. This will in turn bring down the overall life-cycle cost of the product. Our trials also indicate that the fuel efficiency is better than competition. With bus body building being our major strength for many years, we are confident that our brand will take us through in this venture. We have delivered more than 5,000 buses to a number of STUs in the country, and all of them are happy with our products”, adds Mr. Reddy with optimism.
Being a city bus that operates in defined loops, the company expects to be able to handle the service part quite easily by positioning its service team at customer locations. The vehicle currently comes only with diesel fuel option, with other variants likely in future.