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Indications have emerged that the Eicher Pro Series trucks are set to change the game in the South African transport industry. The Eicher Pro Series, which promises class-leading fuel efficiency, superior uptime and minimum maintenance, was launched recently at a colourful ceremony on the opening day of TruckX, Africa’s premier forum for the commercial transport industry, on July 12, 2017, at the Kyalami handling track.
Eicher Trucks & Buses is the leading brand of VE Commercial Vehicles Limited (VECV), a joint venture between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors aimed at changing the game in the commercial transportation industry by setting new benchmarks in professionalism, quality and service delivery.
Developed with the Volvo Group’s world-class technology and processes along with Eicher’ s innovative engineering and proven fuel- efficient DNA, the Eicher Pro Series has been designed to deliver a higher level of performance backed by highly responsive local support services.
The ultimate aim, according to the Vice-president and Country Head of VECV South Africa, Surender Singh Rajpurohit, is to promote greater productivity and profitability in the local transport industry. He maintained that South Africa is a strategic market which is expected to play a critical role in Eicher Trucks & Buses international business as Eicher is present in over 30 countries, with key markets including South East Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
The brand has an on-road vehicle population of about 500, 000 units and its presence internationally is growing at a fast pace.
The company has also expressed its determination to take the industry to a new level through its PRO philosophy – a philosophy that describes not only Eicher Pro Series trucks, but also the company’s way of working.
The launch of the Eicher Pro Series, which has been designed and developed in a modern, high-tech, multi-facility manufacturing plant – which also houses a next-generation engine plant – built in collaboration with the Volvo Group, is part of the over $155 million (R2-billion) invested so far in setting up the company’s operations in South Africa with a commitment to invest more in bringing more product platforms into the country.
The facility not only manufactures Euro IV heavy duty engines but also supplies Euro VI compliant base engines internationally to the Volvo Group. On the Pro Series assembly line, state-of-the-art production processes include a robotic cab weld shop, a CED paint shop and a 100 percent hot test facility, all of which are aimed at achieving quality and reliability in line with top international standards.
Featuring a six-speed manual-shift gearbox with an aluminium housing as well as an inspection window, the robust Monotron propeller shaft of the Eicher Pro Series has been designed for maintenance-free operation even as the spacious cabin has been adapted from a Japanese design for comfort, safety and ergonomic efficiency.
Powered by a new generation, fuel-injected, four-cylinder, four-valve Eicher E494 CRS engine which features the Volvo Group’s EMS 3.0 technology – a management system with high processing capability that maintains optimum balance between load demand, fuel efficiency, emission control and low-end torque, the truck is built on a high-strength, modular, Domex ladder-frame chassis.
Designed for superior performance with better fuel economy, higher payloads and faster turnaround times, the Eicher trucks have low operating cost and high reliability, leading to higher profits. With constant productivity improvements, relevant modernisation and a promise to partner customers through the life cycles of their vehicles, Eicher Pro Series is poised to ensuring that clients get more revenue out of their investments, resulting in higher profitability.
Suitable for a variety of cargo-carrying applications, among them fast-moving consumer goods, refrigerated produce, bottled beverages, bread and confectionery, meat and poultry and other agricultural produce, depending on the body configuration, the point of sale is just the beginning of the customer-Eicher relationship.
Surender Singh put it succinctly: “To reiterate, in terms of the brand’s PRO philosophy, we commit to partnering with customers right through the entire life cycles of the vehicles they purchase,” adding that as a primary focus area, Eicher has proactively ensured parts availability and technical training before the start of sales.
“VECV SA has joined hands with Bidvest Panalpina Logistics (BPL) as its 3PL partner. Millions of rands have already been invested to take care of parts availability. Currently, our warehouse has stocks of over 2 600 line items,” he said as he stressed that through Eicher’s country-wide network of dealers, the brand promises to deliver customer service with unmatched reliability and quality of maintenance or repair.
His words: “Our trained technicians are certified by Eicher for diagnostics and have exhaustive knowledge of the products.”
Eicher Trucks are now available at 14 strategic locations in South Africa, though the aim is to expand the network rapidly to ensure a high level of sales and after-sales support. Well established truck franchise dealers include the AAD Group, BB Motor Group, Billson Trucks, CMH Group, Fleet Dynamics, Imperial Group & Premier Truck and Bus.
“Service reach is extensive,” No matter where you are, Eicher service is never too far away,” Surender Singh said.
Source: Future Trucking & Logistics
