New Volvo truck range makes an exciting premiere in India

Volvo Trucks' much-awaited new range has been launched in India today. The completely renewed product portfolio - which includes the flagship Volvo FH, voted 'International Truck of the Year 2014' in Europe - is pushing the limits on what premium trucks can offer, setting a new benchmark for transportation.

During the initial press event held at KTPO, Whitefield, Bangalore, Philippe Divry, President, Volvo India Private Ltd, and Senior Vice President of the Volvo Group said, “Volvo has invested more than US$3 billion and 14 million engineering hours in this project. And just to make perfectly sure of the outcome, we have tested the vehicles for 21 million kilometers. We are the undisputed leader of the premium truck segment in India, and this new range will keep moving the bar further in terms of productivity and efficiency for our customers.”

Over a two day period – following the press event - more than 150 VIP customers from all over India are invited to Bangalore to experience three new models that together constitute a significant development in the transportation industry.

Comprising of Volvo FH, the Volvo FM and the Volvo FMX, the range is the most technologically advanced in India. It boasts of important improvements in all crucial areas: from productivity, fuel efficiency, safety to maximizing uptime. The range also introduces unique features such as the intelligent I-Shift automated gearbox technology optimized for tough and rugged mining operating conditions, as well as Volvo’s unique Dynafleet telematics system which allows following up on fuel consumption over time, and – together with Volvo Trucks Driver Training services – coach drivers into further improving their fuel saving skills.

Dynafleet also enables customers to see in real time the location of their vehicles and vehicles’ performance data that are critical to have control on their fleet, letting the customer fully focus on running their core business.

Designed for demanding industry segments

Vinod Aggarwal, CEO of VE Commercial Vehicles, commented that, “with new hi-tech capabilities and a wide range of benefits, the trucks are equipped to serve every Volvo customer in India, from construction and mining to heavy haulage.”

“There are countless infrastructure developments taking place in India, providing significant opportunities. We at Volvo Trucks want to maximize our operations off the back of these major developments; we want to offer total peace of mind to our customers and facilitate their growth. With the introduction of the New Volvo truck range, we’re confident in our ability to be a key player in this ambitious journey” added Mr. Aggarwal.

The Volvo FH is an innovative truck built with the driver in focus, it is wired to make operations more efficient, more productive, safer and more comfortable for over dimensional cargo transport. The new Volvo FH 520, built grounds up, is more robust leading to increased technical load carrying capacity (GCW) by 33% to 200 tonnes.

The Volvo FMX is extremely robust and is the ultimate truck for mining and construction, integrating the experience of Volvo in this segment around the world and especially during its 15 years of leadership in India. The new FMX 440 8X4 is equipped to deliver the best in class productivity with an increased body capacity of 19.5 cu.m, which allows to carry an additional bucket of payload. Also, it will offer the I-Shift gearbox for mining as an option, which makes it easier to drive the vehicles under the toughest conditions, thereby increasing productivity.

Lastly, the Volvo FM is a flexible all-round player. The power rating of the new Volvo FM 6X4 tractor has been improved from 400hp to 440hp leading to increased pulling power. Also, it would now come with a 125 tonnes (technical GCW) Puller thereby meeting the latent need of customers to have a product in this range. It is an extremely versatile truck that can be tailored for each specific need of the customer’s business. It would also have a Euro 4 6X4 rigid variant with 420 hp and Ishift for special applications.

Driving progress through total offer

Though the expectations for the new truck range is high, Volvo Trucks is stepping up the overall customer experience which comprises of two key factors - premium product solutions and premium customer service.

Rama Rao A S, Senior Vice President, Sales Marketing and Aftermarket, Volvo Trucks, VECV explained, “We are the No.1 preferred truck brand in the premium European segment with over 65 percent market share in its segment; but more importantly we focus to be No.1 in terms of customer satisfaction.” He further added, “We believe in creating and delivering value to our customers. For us at Volvo Trucks, all our offerings emerge from the customers’ needs and end with their satisfaction. With our comprehensive offerings meeting today’s business challenges in transportation, we can help our customers to improve their productivity and profitability more effectively and aim at what we call customer delight”.

Volvo Trucks is currently present in India with more than 150 touch points across the country including state of the art workshops and various service support centers as we believe premium trucks need premium care.

About Volvo Trucks India

Volvo Trucks product range in India includes the FMX range of Tippers and FM Rigid Trucks for special application e.g. Fire Tenders, Sky lifts, Boom Pumps, Concrete Mixers and the FM/FH range of Tractors in different configurations. Volvo FM Tractor series has applications in petroleum & chemicals, bulk cargo, construction and even ODC (over-dimension cargo). The FH series is used in long-haulage ODC transport applications. Today, Volvo Trucks enjoys over 65 percent of the premium European heavy duty market share in India.