COMBINED STRENGTHS

R S Sachdeva, COO - Eicher Trucks And Buses gives us in-depth insight on the inner workings of the joint venture between Volvo & Eicher and maps out their recipe for success

- Kruti Bharadva

ll us briefly about the joint venture between Eicher motors and Volvo group – VECV?

With a common vision to drive modernisation in the business of commercial vehicles, Eicher Motors and Volvo Group joined hands in 2008. Besides being a leader in the light and medium-sized vehicle segment, Eicher Motors is known for frugal engineering, considerable after-sales infrastructure, and cost-effective operations. If you add Volvo Group’s global expertise, leadership in product technology, well-defined processes to that, you get a winning combination. Over the years, the partnership, which was branded as Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles, has been complementing each other by leveraging their combined strengths to deliver effective solutions that favourably impact the finished vehicle’s ecosystem. Today, the brand includes a complete range of Eicher-made trucks and buses, Volvo buses, engine manufacturing and exports for Volvo Group, exclusive distribution of Volvo Trucks in India, non-automotive engines, and Eicher component business.

Tell us about your production capacities and manufacturing plants in India

We have nine state-of-the-art plants located across the country. All these manufacturing facilities are equipped with best-in-class technology working with the most sustainable solution. Most recently we inaugurated our plant in Bhopal which is built according to Industry 4.0 norms. This plant is equipped with a completely automated manufacturing process with MES control along with connected machines and supply systems.