Eicher Delivers Modern City Bus

Gandhi nagar/Ahmedabad, October 2011: Eicher Trucks & Buses (A business area of VECV) today, introduced on Indian Roads its most recent Bus offering when it handed over the first lot of 10 Rear Engine Semi Low Floor (RESLF) City Buses to Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation.

The keys of the vehicles were delivered by Mr. G Sekar, Senior Vice President (Sales & Marketing), Eicher Trucks & Buses to the Honorable Minister for Finance & Transport, Government of Gujarat, Mr. Vajubhai Vala at a grand function organized at the GSRTC Depot in Gandhi nagar

`We are thankful to the Gujarat State Government, especially the Management of GSRTC for reposing confidence in us and giving us the opportunity to partner in the growth of the state’s infrastructure’ said Mr. Sekar.

These modern City Buses have a Rear Engine and a low Floor height which makes the ride more comfortable for the commuters. Low Floor Buses, either with a one or two step entry, makes them comfortable to board and alight. It reduces stop time and makes travel quicker.

It was in the 2010 Auto Expo, that Eicher showcased the first proto-type of its Rear Engine Semi Low Floor City Bus designed and developed in conformance to the JnNURM guidelines as stipulated by the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India. The order of 20 Nos. from GSRTC that is under execution heralds the advent of Eicher in the City Bus Segment.

He added that this event should be seen as a testimony to Eicher’s success and increasing focus in the Medium and Heavy Duty Bus Space. Earlier this year, Eicher had launched the upgraded version of its Front Engine Heavy Duty Buses, Eicher 20.15, across the country and the launch of this product also started from Surat on 23rd of May, 2011.

Eicher has launched another new model Eicher 11.12, which is a 12 Ton GVW / 4650 MM Wheelbase Platform. It is an intermediate product powered by a four cylinder 95KW engine with seating capacity similar to a six cylinder vehicle. With the increasing cost of acquisition and operation, the Eicher 11.12 Bus Chassis aims to reduce the overall cost of operations including the initial cost of acquisition of the bus. This vehicle is suited for deployment in the School, Staff, Tourist and even the Stage Carriage Segments.

The Bus Industry has experienced a decline of around 8% in the first 9 months of 2011. However, volumes of Eicher Buses have grown by over 32% in the same period resulting in significant improvement in its Market Share. In 2010, Eicher sold over 5000 buses, across all segments.

About Eicher Trucks and Buses

Eicher Trucks and Buses is a business area of VE Commercial Vehicles Limited. (VECV) Its product line-up includes trucks in the range of 5-40 T GVW and 21-69 seater buses, apart from 85 special application vehicles like troop carriers, ambulances and garbage disposal trucks. On the export front, Eicher Trucks and Buses are present in as many as 26 countries.

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