JCB launches dual-fuel CNG backhoe loader, roll-out from Delhi NCR unit

Company claims it will save Rs one lakh per year for the customer, at the current crude price

JCB India Limited, today launched dual-fuel CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) Backhoe Loader in India. This new machine 'JCB 3DX DFi' can operate on CNG and diesel simultaneously using the HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition) technology.

The machine was launched by the Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Nitin Gadkari today.

The machine has been developed in India and has been tested in various operating conditions before its launch. It will be built at the company's Delhi-NCR factory at Ballabgarh. JCB India has five factories and a Design Centre in the country. 

JCB group’s sixth factory is currently under construction at Vadodara, Gujarat. The company has exported Made in India machines to over 110 countries which are designed and manufactured.

JCB India's CEO and Managing Director, Deepak Shetty said that this dual-fuel machine can substitute Diesel with CNG and has been developed to cater to the evolving needs of its customers. It will further contribute to the creation of Infrastructure in the country and will also be exported to countries around the world”

He claims that it will save around Rs one lakh at the current crude price per year for the customer. The dual-fuel variant would cost four per cent more compared to the normal one.

This dual-fuel CNG Backhoe Loader is based on the same 3DX model which is well established in the Indian market. It offers flexible fuelling, which will help customers sustain in remote areas, where a CNG refilling point is unavailable.

On the demand for construction equipment, he said, month on month demand is picking up as infrastructure projects, including road construction, are coming back, and the rural economy is doing well.

According to the Indian Construction Equipment Manufacturers' Association, the overall industry sales figure for construction equipment stood at 30,747 during April-October 2020. This is 10% lower than the sales figure recorded last year during the same period, which was approximately 34026 machines sold between April to October in the year 2019.

He said, JCB's capacity utilisation is 10 per cent higher than last year's level and month on month utilisation is increasing.