Volvo & Eicher Trucks Launch Multiaxle Dump Trucks for Indian Mining in EXCON 2015

Post the joint venture between Volvo Trucks and Eicher Motors, the two automobile majors have jointly launched two new large capacity 5 axle dump trucks for various mining applications viz The FMX 520 10x4 dump truck with 26.1 Cu.m body and FMX 480 10x4 dump truck with 24 Cu.m body.

Volvo Trucks is the only manufacturer to offer a higher capacity 5 axle mining dump trucks in India which is based on the successful and globally proven Volvo’s FMX platform. These new high capacity dump trucks are being introduced to enhance the productivity in line with the increasing demands of coal production. The FMX 520 10x4 dump truck offers a 33% higher capacity and the FMX 480 10X4 offers a 28% higher capacity compared to the current 8X4 solutions available in the market. Volvo Trucks also showcased a highly customized coal haulage solution with 33 Cu.m bodies which is the largest coal haulage truck in the Indian market along with their flagship model the FMX 440 8x4I shift.

Unveiling these trucks, Pierre Jean Verge Salamon, President Volvo Group Trucks India, added that he is very positive about Indian growth story and optimistic about the Government’s plans to double the coal production to 1bn tonnes by 2020. He believes that the next 5 years will open up several new opportunities in the coal mining which will redefine productivity and efficiency demands. 

Anticipating a paradigm change in the mining industry, Volvo has invested significantly in bringing in these new products that are ready to take on the future demands of coal mining.
Pierre Jean Verge Salamon further reiterated Volvo’s commitment to the Indian market and mentioned that Volvo Trucks is the No.1 preferred truck brand having around 65% market share in the high performance mining segment. Volvo Trucks has been driving progress by pioneering in introducing innovative products and services which has set new benchmarks in the Indian mining industry.  These trucks are technologically most advanced and the safest trucks to operate in the high demanding and toughest mining conditions.

Talking on customer value creation, Vinod Aggarwal, CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles, said “We believe in creating and delivering value to our customers with our comprehensive offering which helps to improve their productivity and profitability. Comprehensive offering includes Volvo’s best in class aftermarket onsite support with more than 130 touch points which is considered as the benchmark in the mining industry and also the recently launched Volvo Financial Services to meet the customer financing requirements”. 

Aggarwal further added, we  have made huge investments in the network and introduced path breaking offerings, to mention a few - Company owned and operated dealers, customer specific site support, comprehensive service agreements and various other value added services. Commenting on the Joint Venture he said “The VE Commercial vehicles JV between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors have been extremely successful for the last 7 years due to strong collaboration and synergies between the two companies.”

 Speaking on the occasion Ramarao A S, Sr. Vice President, Sales, Marketing & After Sales, Volvo Trucks, VE Commercial Vehicles said “Volvo Trucks have pioneered in setting new benchmarks in introducing innovative products and offering total transport solutions – “one stop shop arrangement to meet specific customer requirements.” Our comprehensive customized offerings enable our customers to set new productivity benchmarks in the industry by facilitating them to clock more than 6500 engine hours in a year”. Mr. Ramarao A S also added that “Volvo lays a lot of emphasis on the skill enhancements of the drivers ensuring that the drivers are well trained to drive safely and in the most fuel efficient manner and trained 60,000 drivers thus far.”

GV Rao, Vice President, Product Strategy Brand and Marketing, Volvo Trucks, mentioned that these trucks have been developed by working very closely with the customers and taking their suggestions and feedback keeping in mind the emerging trends in the Indian mining industry. These products have undergone extensive field validation to ensure product performance in the demanding operating conditions.

 GV Rao also highlighted the key USPs of these models, prominent among them being - the all new state-of-the-art cab of Volvo FMX offering maximum driving comfort and safety thereby ensuring high driver productivity. Engine delivering best in class HP and torque to ensure excellent driving characteristics, high reliability and optimum fuel efficiency and further supplemented with Volvo patented Volvo Engine Compression brakes (VEB+) for safer driving. 

The new platform is fitted with 3 steerable axles and rugged suspension optimized for tough mining conditions along with customized high capacity body configurations of 26.1 & 24 Cu.m for overburden applications. He also added that the vehicles are offered with Volvo’s unique Dynafleet telematics system which enables drivers to further improve their fuel saving skills and to manage the fleet in an efficient and cost effective manner.