Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Saturday, Aug 12, 2006
Business Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Saturday, Aug 12, 2006 |
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Corporate
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Announcements Volvo offers additional safety features in new truck range Mayur N. Shah
Sector-specific These features have been particularly asked for by companies present in the oil sector and others pertaining to the `dangerous goods' segment and with their presence, the assurance level of transporting goods is attained at a higher level.
Mumbai , Aug. 11 Volvo India is now offering additional safety features in its new range of FM and FH trucks. According to senior officials, the company is importing features like electronic braking systems (EBS), anti-brake lock system (ABS), air suspension, authorised driver recognition (ADR) and rear view cameras that can be fitted to Volvo's new range of trucks. Recently the company launched its new range of FM and FH truck series that has features like i-shift (automatic gearbox) for the first time in the truck segment.
Sector specific features
These features have been particularly asked for by companies present in the oil sector and others pertaining to the `dangerous goods' segment and with their presence, the assurance level of transporting goods is attained at a higher level. The companies are willing to pay an extra price for the products and systems that are imported. The truck (FM9 4X2 tractor-trailer), without these features, is available for Rs 35 lakh. Officials did not wish to disclose the price of the add-on features. Safety features like ABS is slowly gaining ground in the local automobile market, with many automobile players like Fiat, DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai , Maruti Suzuki offering it on their respective range of vehicles. EBS and ADR are relative new safety technologies that have not made their presence felt in the market. The safety aspect of this technology is not known by the average man. Experts believe that wide awareness of the technology and its benefits will highlight its prowess and thus can be incorporated by the automobile players at a mass level to bring down its relative price.
City bus
Besides introducing novel technologies for the truck segment, the company has recently introduced its `city bus - B7R LE'. It has a 290 bhp diesel engine with a fully automatic gearbox. Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation has 25 such city buses plying on the city's roads while another 25 have been ordered, according to officials. The export market has been growing slowly with Indian operations catering to the SAARC region. Officials said that the company has sold 50-60 units in Bangladesh so far, with a dealer being recently appointed for the Sri Lanka market. Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan and other members of the SAARC region will be soon covered by the Indian operations. It has also sold over 250 units (Tipper 8X4 - 420 hp) in Korea.
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