Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles, a 50:50 JV between the two entities, unveiled an entire range of mid-premium commercial vehicles last year under the brand name Eicher Pro. The new CV range was developed in India with R&D inputs from Volvo.
While the Eicher Pro series of commercial vehicles are being launched in India in a phased manner, the company is simultaneously getting ready to export these models to emerging markets. Mr. Shyam Maller, senior vice-president, sales & marketing, VECV, told Business Standard that the Eicher Pro 1000 and Pro 3000 series of trucks are currently undergoing homologation process in select international markets in Asia and Africa with exports expected to commence later this year.
He added that in the second phase, the Pro 6000 and Pro 8000 trucks would be exported. As of now, the Pro 6000 truck range is already being sold by Volvo in Thailand under the UD brand name (Volvo's wholly owned Japanese subsidiary). Depending on the export market, the Pro family of trucks could adopt either Eicher or Volvo's UD badge.
VECV's domestic sales declined by 16% in the first half of 2014. The medium and heavy commercial vehicle segment in India is facing a slowdown and VECV is hoping to garner the required sales volume from its new exports.
[Source: Business Standard]
