Localised product to drive growth in Indian market
An exclusive report from MOTORINDIA
The Voith Retarder was chosen as the ‘Best Brand’ in the ‘Retarders’ category this year at an award ceremony held at the Stuttgart State Gallery on May 24. The proven braking system was voted to the No.1 spot by the readers of the technical magazines ‘Lastauto Omnibus’, ‘Trans Aktuell’ and ‘Fernfahrer’. Prizes were presented in a total of 22 categories based on criteria such as brand quality, brand awareness and brand empathy.
In the Retarders category, the hydrodynamic, wear-free continuous brake from Voith was chosen the winner. The Voith Retarder team was delighted over the trust shown by commercial vehicle operators and drivers. This is once again confirmed by the renowned award. Alongside economy and safety, the ongoing development of the Voith Retarder also focuses strongly on sustainability.
For truck and coach drivers who spend several hours on the road everyday, the retarder is a guarantor for safety. They can rely on cool, fully functional service brakes in the event of an emergency. For fleet operators, factors such as economy and sustainability are particularly important when they select a retarder. To them, it offers both ecological and commercial advantages. It increases the average speed of the vehicle and reduces fuel consumption, a fact that is impressively underlined by more than 600,000 Voith Retarders delivered so far.
With a mileage of 1.5 million km, vehicles without retarder would have to visit the workshop up to five times more often, depending on their application, in order to have their brake discs and linings replaced. This means that the investment in a retarder often pays off after just one to two years. The retarder also helps to reduce brake dust emissions by up to 80 per cent.
Apart from the classic Voith Retarder using oil as an operating medium, the Voith portfolio also features two Aquatarders for heavy commercial vehicles up to 40 tonne GVW. These retarders run with the cooling agent of the vehicle and are maintenance-free. For lighter commercial vehicles in the 7.5 to 16 tonne class, Voith offers the maintenance-free Magnetarder.
In the Indian market
Voith entered the Indian market through Volvo whose buses came fitted with its retarders. The general strategy adopted by Voith for any new market is to start with the coach segment with the truck market unfolding in the long term. In India, Voith is localising the R 123 Retarder. Two modified versions of the same, VR 119 and VR 123+, are also in the process of being localised in Hyderabad. The localised product will be available in India in a few months and supplies will begin to the local market shortly.
Mr. Hans-Gunter Bohm, Senior General Manager Key Account Product Group Driveline, Voith Turbo, said: “India is a relatively new retarder market for us. The localisation of the product will give us a higher potential for success, which would also be driven by our technological know-how and the better pricing we will offer. We are really confident on our prospects after localisation.”
The company is confident of partnering leading manufacturers, including Tata Motors, Ashok Leyland, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, who have all shown interest in its retarders. Voith retarders are performing successfully in many major markets across the globe, and the Indian market would require only a technology transfer and subsequent localisation of the product.
Retarders are very common in certain markets, for instance, in the coaches in Western Europe, and in major parts of South America, a retarder is a standard for safety reasons. In the truck segment, 90 per cent of the long distance truck-trailers and 80 per cent of the 4×2 trucks in Germany are equipped with a retarder, while 50 per cent of the short-distance delivery vehicles and construction vehicles come with this equipment. The total German heavy-duty truck segment is 50 per cent retarder-fitted. The same is the target in the Indian market in the coming years.
Voith has also been keenly focused on the Indian bus market which, over the last few years, has seen steady growth in high-end vehicles with retarders as a standard fitment. The trend in the Indian bus market is a clear indication of the huge potential available for retarder-makers such as Voith Turbo.