Tatra Plans To Launch Its Latest Tractor-Trailer
Tatra AS, the $4.2 billion Czech subsidiary of Skoda Plzen which has a joint venture in India, is planning to launch one of its leading models - multiple axle tractor-trailer trucks - in the country, similar to those launched by Volvo recently.
Another of Tatra's models, the heavy duty dumper trucks introduced last month, has bagged its first major order from L&T for 10 trucks which will be used for the country's first greenfield Mumbai-Pune expressway project.
"We are definitely launching the tractor-trailers in another 18 months," Tatra Udyog vice-president, marketing & sales, D Satyadhi told Business Standard.
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Tatra Udyog is a 50:50 joint venture between Tatra and $400 million Venus Udyog, an ancillary automotive and industrial group based in the United Kingdom. Satyadhi said Tatra Udyog's tractor-trailers will be modified to suit local conditions.
The $28 billion Volvo, the third largest global manufacturer of trucks, launched its FH12 trucks in the country in early June. The FH12 version is powered by a 340 HP 12 Lt engine. Satyadhi said the company's current focus would be to tap the high-growth infrastructure industry and the Naval Seabird project expected to come up at Karwar sea port. Tatra AS, in association with BEML, is the largest supplier of military trucks to the defence forces.
He said the company was also planning to market its trucks in the far east and the middle east. It plans to manufacture around 165 trucks by March 1999. "The initial response has been extremely good. Once we get into the system, it will be much easier to market our trucks," Satyadhi said. At present, Tatra has introduced its new range of T-815 version: a three-axle dumper and excavator designed for both off-road and on-road operations. The current level of indigenisation in trucks is around 30 per cent. The joint venture has received the Reserve Bank of India approval (RBI) for dollar payments (forex outgo) to import the kits in CKD/SKD by paying 70 per cent in customs duty.
It has also received an approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to raise the equity to Rs 45 crore in phases in the next two years. The initial combined equity is Rs 16.8 crore. The company hopes to break even by 2001 with a target sale of 500 vehicles of different models. Tatra trucks are built on a unique `backbone chassis' design, consisting of a central tube enclosing the power line elements with individuals swinging half axles on either side, which provide high level of stability to the superstructure and allows operation with least ground clearance. These features helps the trucks to easily negotiate steep mountain ranges, uneven off-road terrain and muddy conditions during the monsoon.