Eicher-Volvo JV to launch new vehicles

A joint venture (JV) between India’s Eicher Motors and Swedish truck-maker Volvo AB plans to launch two new heavy-duty commercial vehicles in two years, a top official of Eicher Motors said. The JV, called VE Commercial Vehicles Ltd. (VECV) includes Eicher’s commercial vehicles business along with its engineering components and engineering solutions businesses, besides Volvo’s India truck sales and distribution network. “We are in the process of development and hope to launch that in the next fiscal year,” Eicher Motors Managing Director Siddhartha Lal said. The JV plans to introduce a new 6X4 tipper and a 6X4 tractor-trailer within 18-24 months, he said. “But this would be in addition to making variants of existing models and also improving on them,” Lal added. In VECV, Eicher products will continue to be manufactured at its Pithampur plant, near Indore in Madhya Pradesh. The plant has a capacity of 180 vehicles a day. “We are planning to increase capacity so as to be able to roll out as many as 300 vehicles by the end of three years,” Lal said. (September 12, 2008)