VE Commercial Vehicles Limited (Volvo Group and Eicher Motors JV) did the ground breaking ceremony of the upcoming Eicher bus manufacturing plant near Indore at Dhar, Madhya Pradesh on 6th Feb 2012. The plant is being set up with an investment of INR 125 Crores in the first phase and would commence production by 2nd quarter of 2013. The plant will have a capacity to produce 10000 buses when fully operational.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Siddhartha Lal, MD, VE Commercial Vehicles Limited said, “The Indian Bus market is likely to cross 100,000 units by 2015 and demand for more contemporary, comfortable buses is on the rise. With this plant, VECV is planning new range of buses which would be contemporary on technology, aesthetics and finish serving the customer needs both in the expanding domestic and exports markets”.
Mr. Bertil Thoren, VECV Board member said “The state of the art plant will be another large step towards our vision of becoming a leading CV player in India and other emerging markets. It will be set up under our overriding vision of driving modernisation in the Indian commercial transportation.”
The multi model bus manufacturing plant would produce Light, Medium and Heavy duty buses including the rear engine semi low floor buses catering to the requirements of the school, staff, city & Intercity segments. The plant would have robotic processes for bus painting and will be highly mechanized to ensure high quality consistency & productivity. A robust quality system is being institutionalised to sustain the quality supported with an in-house training centre for the Blue collar workmen.
Mr. Vinod Aggarwal, CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles limited said-“Eicher has continued to garner impressive numbers in the Indian bus market. The year 2011 saw us improve our market share from 7% to 10% and also gain significant entry into State transport undertaking segments. The upcoming bus manufacturing plant would provide the necessary impetus to achieve our next trajectory of growth with best in class buses”
VE Commercial Vehicles Limited (VECV) is a 50-50 joint venture between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors Limited. In operation since July 2008, the company includes the complete range of Eicher trucks and buses, Eicher’s components and engineering design services businesses as well as the sales and distribution business of Volvo trucks within India. VECV aims to become a full-range commercial vehicle company whose products will drive modernization in commercial transportation in India and other emerging world markets.
– VE Press Release