The Indian truck market has been abuzz with the ambitious plans and huge investments by several global manufacturers in a bid to capture a share of the market. Recently, the largest truck manufacturer on the domestic turf, Tata Motors, has announced its plans to pose stiff competition to the likes of Bharat Benz, Volvo Eicher Commercial and Mahindra Navistar. In order to accomplish this, the company has planned 50 new models and variants to its heavy duty global truck range 'Prima' of sub-one tonne trucks.
At Society of Indian Automobile manufacturers (SIAM) HR Conclave, a company official revealed that the truck manufacturer has plans to invest Rs. 1,500 to 2,000 crores for the development of new products. Ravi Pisharody, Head, Commercial Vehicles, Tata Motors, said, "We would be launching a series of new products and variants across categories right from our sub-one tonne trucks to our Prima range. We will also be introducing our Y1 light commercial vehicle range by September."
In order to make pricing economical and attract buyers, Tata Motors launched a LX variant of the Prima truck as well. According to the company, the product has been successful and has received good initial response from the key demographics. The company feels that the conditions in the Indian truck market in medium and heavy truck segment has been rough and that it is operating at just 70 per cent of its total production capacity at present. However, things have been positive in the sub-one tonne truck segment for the truck manufacturer, as its Ace Zip and Magic Iris bring in monthly sales volumes of 5,000 models.
