Eicher forays into Bihar

Jan 31, 2013: VE Commercial Vehicles Limited (Volvo Group and Eicher Motors JV) inaugurated the modern and contemporary dealership of Eicher branded trucks and buses - M/s Pawan Automotives Pvt. Ltd. at Begusarai in Bihar. The dealership which is a 3S dealership (Sales, Service & Spares) facility will further strengthen the company’s resolve and commitment to provide sales and after sales support to the rapidly growing customer base of Eicher in the Eastern part of the country. It is located at NH 3, Harpur Chowk, Begusarai and has a modern equipped set up of 17,000 sq ft. with contemporary tools and equipments. The service team at the new touch point has been trained at the Eicher training centre. Eicher has 250 touch points nationally with 20 touch points in the Eastern region and would be continuously expanding its foot prints to be close to its customers. The first Eicher branded truck was rolled out from its state of the art manufacturing plant in Pithampur in 1986 and over the past 25 years, the products have got endorsement from happy customers of over 300,000 vehicles. The company today has transformed into a complete CV manufacturer with a wide product range from 5t to 40t GVW trucks and 16 to 65 seater buses. Eicher trucks were one of the first in India to offer the tilt cabin, apart from ready to use built-up vehicle in accordance with customers’ needs. Another example is the Eicher school bus which has been designed in conjunction with the IRTE (Institute of Road Traffic Association), school and parent bodies and the IIT. The result has been a bus that is equipped with safety mechanisms to ensure an incident-free journey

Eicher Trucks and Buses over the time have been trusted and proven as the best in class fuel efficient vehicles. Fuel efficiency (FE) is a critical parameter in purchase decisions of Commercial Vehicles as fuel constitutes over 50% of the running cost for the customer. Eicher brand has always been associated with fuel efficiency and the same has been proven through various trials and actual usage by the customers. Using state-of-the-art technology, innovative design and engineering, an Eicher vehicle consumes less diesel as compared to others leading to more profitability for the customers.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. G. Sekar (Senior Vice President – Sales & Marketing) said “The Company’s products strongly emphasize its customer orientation. The company's effort to provide value to its customers has also borne fruit with increased customer acceptance reflected in growing vehicle sales. Eicher products are known to be the most fuel efficient vehicle in its category. They are also known for its overall low cost of ownership and the reason can be found in the 'Eicher advantages'.

Also present on the occasion Mr. Sree Ramarao (Senior Vice President – After Market) said that the focus is on improving customer experience at the dealerships. “We want to get closer to our customers and ensure that they are able to get their products serviced much easier and faster. We are continuously enhancing the standards of our distribution centers so that we provide best-in-class service and uniform customer experience” added Mr. Rama Rao.

The co. has ensured Enhanced Service coverage through-

• Wide network of close to 250 dealer outlets across country
• Higher availability of Parts
• Mobile service vans with all dealers
• 24x7 helpline with All India Helpline number

The company's effort to provide value to its customers has also borne fruit with increased customer acceptance reflected in growing vehicle sales. The company's products strongly emphasize its customer orientation and the brand has shown strong gains in the market shares. In the year 2012, there was an all-round improvement in market shares of Eicher across all the segments. Bus market share reached 11.9% up from 9.7% in 2011 and 6% in 2009. In the LD/MD segment, the market share stands at 31.4% up from 30.5% in 2011 and 25.6% in 2009. In the HD segment the market share is at 4% up from 3.1% in 2011 and 1% in 2009. In the high end Volvo Tippers, we are at 60% from 58% in 2011. Overall, the organization ended the year with a sale of 48831 units against 49043 units in 2011, a drop of 0.4% as against industry drop of 11.6%.

Disclaimer: All statements included or incorporated by reference in this media release, other than statements or characterizations of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs and certain assumptions made by us. Although VE Commercial Vehicles believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement was made, and VE Commercial Vehicles undertakes no obligation to Update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. No assurance can be given that actual results, performance or achievement expressed in, or implied by, forward-looking statements within this disclosure will occur, or if they do, that any benefits may be derived from them.