The Hindu Business Line : Eicher to replace Skyline, Cruiser buses with new range

Pune, March 24 Eicher Motors, the commercial vehicle unit of Eicher Motors Ltd, will replace its existing Skyline and Cruiser buses with a new range of light commercial vehicle (LCV) buses that will be the first in the country to meet all the specifications of the Indian ‘bus-code’.

Full production of the new semi-low-floor buses for intra-city applications and high-deck coaches for inter-city use will begin at Pithampur by October. Mr A. Ramasubramanian, CEO, Eicher Motors, said that the new buses will be the only ones in India to meet all the norms of the bus code like crash test, safety rollover, and so on and be BS -II and -III complaint.

The company expects to manufacture 6,000 semi low-floor buses during the forthcoming fiscal for both the domestic market as well as for export to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and some countries in Africa and West Asia.

Eicher Motors has also undertaken a major expansion programme to ramp up capacity by 40 per cent in the same space at the Pithampur plant. This includes re-doing manufacturing lines, re-laying factory lines and going for advanced storage, delivery and logistics that will expose space for new assembly lines.

“Our current capacity is 48,000 units per annum, and we can even double it,” Mr Ramasubramanian said adding that the total allocation for this was over Rs 100 crore last year, and a similar amount in the near future.

Referring to the company’s entry into heavy commercial vehicles (HCV) business, Mr Ramasubramanian said, “We are still in the investment mode, and have not yet stabilised.” Stating that their LCVs were still the breadwinners, he said, “equalisation between the two will take place in three to four years. HCV will outstrip LCV profitability in ten years.”

Eicher Motors expects to sell a total of 41,000 trucks and buses during the 2008-09 fiscal, and 60,000 by 2010-11. Amongst the new products that are due for launch are the Terra 25 Tipper, 49T GVW Tractor Trailer and high deck coaches.

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