Eicher to enter tipper market  ( December '17,2005, HBL)

BULLISH on the domestic commercial vehicles segment, Eicher Motors said on Thursday that it would soon launch tippers in the market and go in for higher tonnage vehicles that it is developing in-house.

"We have already piloted 4x2 tippers in certain specific segments such as mining and construction and plan to commercially launch them in the next few months," said Mr Rakesh Kalra, Chief Executive (Commercial Vehicles).

The tipper market in India is estimated to account for 25,000-30,000 units annually and is growing at about 18-20 per cent a year.

Eicher, which offers vehicles in the 5-25-tonne range, is looking at making a further thrust in the heavy commercial vehicles market and has plans to launch vehicles going up to 40 tonnes.

"We have plans to go up to 40 tonnes, though many of the products are in the drawing board stage. Most of the research and development efforts for this are being done in-house," Mr Kalra said.

The company on Thursday launched a new range in the 7-11 tonne light commercial vehicles (LCVs) category, promising higher fuel efficiency.

The company claimed that the new `E2' would reduce the total cost of ownership by offering greater benefits.

"The E2 series is our next step in setting new benchmarks in pioneering LCVs - which offer not only unparalleled fuel efficiency but better drivability and sturdier performance," said Mr Siddharth Lal, Group COO.

He added that the new products come with `IPDT' (improved power drive train).

The E2 series will be priced starting from Rs 6.59 lakh up to Rs 6.96 lakh (ex-showroom).