Volvo Eicher bets big on North Karnataka

Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles arm Eicher Truck & Buses launched a new dealership in Hosapete on Wednesday in a bid to cater better to the needs of its customers in the strategically important North Karnataka market.

North Karnataka, which accounts for a third of its sales in the state, is vital for VECV since iron-ore and steel mining activities have picked up a lot in this region lately. Hosapete, too, is a major market for VECV as it accounts for about 10-15 per cent of the entire Karnataka market, VECV Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Vinod Aggarwal said in an exclusive conversation with DH.

Some of the fast-growing segments in the region such as cement, road construction, consumer goods and e-commerce make this particular dealership strategically important, said the company, which came out of a 2008 joint venture between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors Limited.

The facility is equipped with a multi-bay workshop to provide services to its customers around the clock.

“The service needs to be even better than the products. It is the service that delivers the performance. If the service is not good and the truck is good, then you will not get the performance,” Aggarwal said.

The Hosapete dealership will be a 24x7 workshop that will provide services and spares to the customers throughout the night.

The company said it was investing heavily in technology and automation, besides servicing, to make the experience smoother for its customers. It sells all its trucks and buses with advanced telematics and live-tracking capability, thereby providing real-time data on vehicle health to fleet owners. This includes information on fuel efficiency and vehicle issues.

Aggarwal said that while the company was working on the technology for e-trucks, “you don’t see any electric trucks on the road.” E-buses, however, have just begun to appear on roads currently and the issue lies mainly around the infrastructure and initial costs, he added.

He is optimistic about demand now that the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us.

While demand for buses fell due to schools being shut and inter-state travel remaining low during the Covid-19 era, he expects the current financial year to be a promising one with the return of employees to their offices and schools starting to open up.

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