Volvo Eicher JV upgrades entire range of commercial vehicles with connected tech
VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a joint venture between Eicher and Volvo Group, on Wednesday said its entire range of commercial vehicles would now come with connected technology.
From August 1 onwards, all the trucks and buses from the company's lineup would come with factory-fitted telematics system which would help the owners enhance productivity of their vehicles.
"We are now the first company in the country to be selling fully-connected commercial vehicles," VECV CEO Vinod Aggarwal told PTI.
The entire lineup of the company's commercial vehicles, ranging between 4.9 tonnes and 55 tonnes, will come with telematics system with two years free subscription, he added.
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Aggarwal said, with the connected technology in place, owners could get regular inputs regarding their vehicles on real-time basis.
The vehicles would have live internet connection and they would be in constant touch with owners or managers, as well as company workshops, he added.
The connected technology would help the owners to keep an eye on driving habits of drivers which influence fuel efficiency and would also give alerts if the vehicle needs some repair or servicing, Aggarwal said.
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"We need to offer the least cost of ownership to the customer. Due to transition from BS 4 to BS 6, the cost of ownership for commercial vehicles has gone up between 8-15 per cent. By having connected features, the owners would be able to realise much better fuel efficiency, up time and so the entire productivity of the vehicle goes up," he noted.
Large fleet customers who have high demands of fuel efficiency, safety and driving behaviour as critical elements will be able to maximise their productivity and profitability, Aggarwal said.
This technology will not only benefit the big logistics players but also the last mile vehicles as effectively, he added.
The company has set up a centre at Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh to cater to uptime services, fuel management and diagnostic services under the connected services project.
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When asked if price of the vehicles would go up due to this upgrade, Aggarwal said: "We are not charging extra for this service."
He said the company plants were currently operating at 25-30 per cent level due to poor demand and expressed hope that revival may begin from September-October period.
He added that the introduction of the incentive-based scrappage policy could help in the revival of the commercial vehicle segment which has been under a severe slowdown.
