India’s top-heavy trucks!

We look at the popular heavy-duty rigid trucks in India. What makes them tick?

The trucking industry is going through one of its worst phases in recent years, the heavy-duty truck witnessed a sharp decline. Yet, in less than 60 days, India will make a transition to BSVI emission. This dual challenge of slowdown and new emission norms likely to impact the industry in the short-term, however, the potential of growth in the long-term of the Indian trucking industry remains promising. The growth primarily will be driven by two key factors-the enormous domestic consumption and growing infrastructure of India.

The domestic truck market is mainly measured between the light, medium and heavy-duty segments, within these segments there are various sub-segments with different types of products. The heavy-duty truck segment as per the new axle load norms starts from 28T GVW (earlier 25T GVW) and goes up to 55T GVW, this inclusive of rigid/haulage, tipper, and tractor-trailers. This makes the heavy truck market massive with wider products catering to several different applications such as construction material, tankers, containers, bulkers, etc.  

While the list is exhaustive, we look at the 37T GVW, five axles haulage truck segment (as per the earlier axle load norms). Last 5 years, this segment grew rapidly which offers the advantage to carry the highest rated payload for customers. Improving infrastructure, enforcement of rated loads by the authorities and best operating economics are some of the key factors which led to the 37T segment to become one of the largest and fastest-growing segments. This sudden boom in the segment saw all the truck makers introduced a product in the category and gained higher sales due to the growing demand for this rigid truck.

Ashok Leyland 3718

Ashok Leyland’s 3718, the five axles truck is among the most preferred rigid truck of customers in India. This truck is leading the way in the transformation taken place in the rigid segment in India. Ashok Leyland pioneered this segment with push axle and over the years achieved leadership in the segment.

Ashok Leyland offers the 3718 multi-axle truck both in the cowl and Captain and U cab options with both 180 and 230 HP engines. However, the 3718 cowl is by far the most popular truck in the segment as customers prefer to customise the truck as per their requirements of the shipment or application the truck being deployed. 

The Ashok Leyland 3718 promises lower maintenance and superior productivity, and equally focus on driver productivity.  It comes with tested and a successful H series turbocharged BSIV engine. This 180 HP power comes at 2400 rpm and maximum torque of 660Nm @ 1200-1900rpm range. Ashok Leyland has provided the 3718 with a 9-speed manual gearbox supported by heavy-duty 380mm Clutch with ceramic facing and higher clamp load along with clutch booster assistance. 

Tata LPT 3718

Tata Motors 37T rigid truck is another popular heavy-duty truck rigid segment preferred for the long-haul distribution. The LPT 3718 comes with the option of two lift axle configuration-pusher and tag-loaded with modern aggregates. Driver comfort and superior fuel economy is what Tata Motors promise with this truck for a better return on investment for the customer.

The LPT 3718 is available in both cowl and Signa cabin and also the customer can customised the truck for various applications. At the heart of this massive truck is Cummins 180 HP 6-cylinder engine with the power of 180 HP at 2500 rpm and torque of 700 Nm at 1200-1700 rpm. To get higher mileage, tubeless tyres options are available in both the variants.  

Bharat Benz 4223R

BharatBenz also emerged as a strong player in this segment with the 4223R haulage truck with GVW of 37,000 kg. This rigid truck has generated a lot of customer interest and become one of the popular models for the company. BharatBenz 4223R comes with a full cabin as the OEM doesn’t retail cowl trucks in any of its segments. Also, the company has a standard 235 HP engine in its portfolio. This 6-cylinder BSVI engine comes with 235HP of power at 850 Nm @1200-1600 rpm.

As segment standard, some of the key features of this truck include hydraulic power-assisted steering, tiltable sleeper cabin with a berth, the service brakes are pneumatic, operated by foot and comes with duel line with ABS and the parking brake with hand control. The chassis frame is a channel section with cross member, the front suspension comes with parabolic type leaf spring with 2 hydraulic shock absorbers, while the rear suspensions are balancer type semi-elliptical leaf spring.

Eicher 6042

Eicher Pro 6042 is another product in the category which comes with the new 42T GVW (new axle load norms GVW) truck with pusher lift axle. This massive truck from Eicher promises the key ingredients any customer looking at such as superior mileage, higher productivity, and driver comfort and built around achieving faster turnaround time at higher reliability and durability and improved maintenance cost. It gets the 210 HP engine BSIV engine and 9-speed gearbox along with superior suspension and axles.  

Blazo X42

Mahindra Trucks and Buses a challenger brand in the heavy-duty segment has a strong product in the category with Blazo X42. This Blazo comes with tag axle, tag axle cowl and pusher axle variants. Targeted at applications such as construction material, boxes, tankers, containers, construction material among others, Blazo X42 comes with Mahindra’s mpower 7.2 liter fuel smart engine. Besides this, Blazo X42 comes with a strong set of aggregates such as Eaton gearbox, high-quality suspension and axles and modern cabin.

The 37T GVW rigid truck has some of the strong products in the category with every truck maker offering the best product. And it is not always the acquisition cost that the customer considers, it is the total cost of ownership and the aftersales support determines the truck buying decision.