Staff Writer
Gurugram: VE Commercial Vehicles (VECV), a Joint Venture between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors on Thursday announced an investment of ₹ 544 crores (about 576 million Swedish Krona) for the production and final assembly of the Volvo Group’s globally state-of-the-art 12-speed Automated Manual Transmission (AMT). The greenfield factory will be established at Vikram Udyogpuri Integrated Industrial Township, near the historic city of Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh.
The investment in AMT production is yet another milestone in the 18-year-old successful VECV JV between the Volvo Group and Eicher Motors. As the global manufacturing hub for Volvo Group’s 5 & 8 Liter (MDEP) engines since 2013, VECV’s Pithampur factory has been a pioneer in Making in India for the World.
Sofia Frandberg, Chairperson, VE Commercial Vehicles and Senior Leader, Volvo Group proudly noted, “This investment by VECV represents yet another win-win synergy with the Volvo Group and leverages the technical and industrial capabilities that have been built-up over the past 18 years. During this time, VECV has repeatedly demonstrated its leadership in the commercial vehicle market through timely introduction of future-ready solutions that address customer needs in the rapidly transforming industry.”
Siddhartha Lal, Chairman Eicher Motors Limited concurs “Since its inception in 2008, our VECV JV has progressively delivered joint programs of growing importance and technological complexity. The new investment to assemble and produce the Volvo Group AMT is built on the bedrock of this trust and technical capability. It marks another significant step towards our vision of becoming a leading CV player in India and other emerging markets by driving modernization in commercial transportation.”
On the occasion, Jens Holtinger, Executive Vice President Group Trucks Technology and Volvo Group Chief Technology Officer said, “This new manufacturing hub at VECV is an excellent example of how the Volvo Group has leveraged partnerships to make our manufacturing supply chain more efficient. It is also a testament to the amount of trust we put in the competence of VECV. Over the past 18 years, VECV has become a core part of Volvo Group supply chain for critical components and aggregates, and we now write a new chapter in our successful relationship.”
Looking at the transformative potential of the AMT, Vinod Aggarwal, MD & CEO, VE Commercial Vehicles said, “As the Indian commercial vehicle industry moves towards higher capacity vehicles, Eicher truck customers and drivers will have access to Volvo Group’s globally leading AMT, which is proven to reduce driver fatigue and improve fuel economy, productivity and Uptime in demanding operations. The new AMT factory will be built to Volvo Group’s global standards and is very much aligned with the Government of India’s vision for Make in India. We thank the Government of Madhya Pradesh for their unstinting support.”
The new AMT facility will have an initial capacity to produce up to 40,000 units p.a. with production and local content to be gradually ramped up in line with Volvo Group’s global processes and quality standards.
