Eicher trucks and buses inaugurates workshop and parts distribution centre in Kathmandu, Nepal

May 16, 2013: Kathmandu: VE Commercial Vehicles Limited (VECV) - a Volvo group and Eicher Motors JV inaugurated the modern, state of the art workshop for Eicher branded trucks and buses in Kathmandu to provide aftersales support its rapidly growing customer base in Nepal. The new Eicher workshop and parts distribution centre is located in Gatthaghar, Kathmandu. The workshop has a modern equipped set up of 12 bays spread over 90,000 square feet with modern tools and equipment. The service personnel have been trained at the Eicher competency development centre (CDC) in Pithampur, India. The central sales office of the dealership is well established in Gairidhara, Kathmandu.

The dealership is managed by Batas group, a renowned corporate house with 40 years of business history. The group is headed by Mr. Ananda Raj Batas, Chairman and Mr. Santa Raj Batas, Group CEO who is also an engineer from National Institute of Technology, Nagpur. The dealership operations are managed by Mr. Deepak Thapa and ably supported by a team of seasoned professionals who have rich knowledge and experience of the commercial vehicles industry.

Eicher branded trucks and buses have had an established presence in Nepal for over two decades with a strong brand equity in the commercial vehicles space. Eicher was the first CV player to introduce BSIII (Euro III equivalent) vehicles in the country. Eicher vehicles are operating across all segments which include light and medium duty trucks, heavy duty trucks, and buses. Eicher school buses are popular for its safety and comfort and enjoy leading position in the school bus segment with a 43% market share. With an extensive network of 18 service touch points and 80 spare parts outlets covering length and breadth of Nepal, Eicher would be continuously expanding its footprint to be close to its customers.

At the inauguration, Mr. Vinod Aggarwal, Chief Executive Officer, VECV commented “Nepal is an important market for VECV and would continue to play a critical role in our growth story. We are happy to witness the strong presence of Eicher brand in the country. With state of art technology, innovative design and engineering and best in class fuel efficient vehicles, Eicher branded trucks and buses would continue to meet the growing demand and contribute to the profitability of our valued consumers”

“We want to get closer to our customers and ensure that they get their Eicher products serviced much easier and faster. We are very sure that our new state of the art workshop would provide best in class service and a uniform customer experience” Mr. Aggarwal added.

VECV recently commissioned state of the art parts distribution centre in India enhancing parts availability across the board. Eicher genuine parts are widely available across Nepal. Apart from this, the concept of “Eicher Genuine Parts Shoppe” also has been rolled out in Nepal to enhance geographical reach and spread in the country. Driver training is a special initiative taken to promote road safety and specialized “Fuel efficient Driving” programs are being run to sensitize the Nepalese drivers on the importance of fuel saving, thereby increasing profitability of Eicher customers. Eicher has also initiated an innovative site support model for its customers through deployment of Eicher service vans at Kathmandu and Pokhra. Genuine Service processes have also been rolled out in dealerships to provide uniform service experience to the customers across the country.

Eicher brand has a wide product range from 5 to 40T GVW trucks and 15 to 65 seater buses. It is making strong inroads into Heavy Duty trucks segment with “VE” series of Fuel Efficient heavy duty trucks. With more than 21000 units, these trucks have received very good response from Indian and international markets with its promise of delivering enhanced Value to the customers. The first Eicher branded truck rolled out from its state of the art manufacturing plant in 1986 and over the past 26 years, the products have got endorsement from happy customers of over 300,000 vehicles. Eicher trucks and buses are exported to more than 22 countries across South Asia, Middle East and Africa supported by a strong distribution and aftermarket network. Eicher trucks and buses over time have been trusted and proven to be 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.

The flagship plant for Eicher branded trucks and buses at Pithampur, India is known for its cost effective and lean manufacturing operations. In recent years, this plant has been investing in a big way towards capacity expansion, enhancement of quality and introduction of new technology. A new paint shop has also been set in the facility which offers superior paint finish and delivers quality much superior to what we see in contemporary trucks in India.

VECV has also set up a world class engine facility at Pithampur, wherein Euro 6 compliant base engines with 5L and 8L capacity will be manufactured to meet the global automotive requirements of Volvo for medium duty engines. These engines would also be adapted for Euro III and Euro IV emission requirements and the same will be used for Eicher heavy duty vehicles.

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.