Fieldmarshal to roll out gas operated tractors in Gujarat

Hopeful of natural gas availability in rural Gujarat in the near future, Rajkot-based Fieldmarshal Group plans to launch gas-operated tractors as well as one tonner commercial vehicle.

The group, known for its flagship company PM Diesels that manufactures diesel engines, has planned to manufacture 16-18 hp gas-operated engines first and later use its core competence to produce tractors and other commercial vehicles.

To be rolled out in one year, the project will witness an investment of Rs 100 crore by Fieldmarshal Group. “Gujarat has been a front runner when it comes to availability of natural gas. But availability of natural gas in rural areas is still an issue.

 

We are hopeful that the compressed natural gas (CNG) as well as piped natural gas (PNG) will be available soon in the rural areas too. Since we already manufacture diesel and petrol operated small tractors, we will use our core competence of engines to roll out gas-operated tractors that can run on CNG as well as LPG,” said S S Jogalekar, president of the group.

While the group already manufactures 8 hp gas engines for three wheelers, research and development (R&D) has begun on manufacturing gas engines beyond 8 hp. Jogalekar added that the group will also manufacture a 16.5 hp gas-operated one tonner commercial vehicle which might give the Tatas a run for their money in this segment.

Recently, Fieldmarshal acquired Panchnath Auto Pvt. Ltd. for manufacturing petrol and gas operated engines as well as vehicles.

Meanwhile, the group is also taking Bajaj head-on by rolling out a 200cc three wheeler. Jogalekar claimed that the vehicle will run on water cooled petrol engine, a first of its kind for three wheelers in the country.

“Currently there are only 175 cc three wheelers in the market. On the other hand, we will be manufacturing 200cc water cooled petrol operated three wheeler for the first time,” he said. Annually, the group exports around 100,000 vehicles.

Having diversified from being a core engine manufacturing group to vehicles as well, Fieldmarshal has re-oriented its capacity of 160,000 engines to 100,000 engines, 250 tractors per month and 500 three wheelers per month.

Fieldmarshal Group has also developed a CNG engine fitment specifically for diesel rickshaws, which will halve the cost of conversion from diesel to CNG for auto rickshaw owners.

This is the first time in the country where diesel three-wheelers are being converted into CNG using an upgraded fitment of 8 horsepower.

By fitting this engine, three-wheeler owners will now be able to complete the conversion for Rs 35,000-40,000, instead of buying a new CNG vehicle that would cost a little over Rs one lakh. There are over 60,000 diesel three-wheelers in Gujarat, of which more than half ply on the roads of Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch and Rajkot.