October 12, 2021
Blog Admin
Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles today launched a new segment of buses with a new Coach & Sleeper bus range. Uptil now VECV had light-, medium-duty buses and a long-distance chassis.
The new product, on the other hand, Eicher 6016 R LPO 12.4 m is a complete factory-built bus of which the driveline and chassis will be built at the VECV plant at Pritampur, Indore and the body at Volvo Buses body building Hosakote facility near Bengaluru. The facility earlier only built Volvo Bus bodies, but it will now also manufacture bodies for Eicher front-engine luxury buses. The new buses will come in configurations of 43 pushback seats or as a sleeper coach that can accommodate 30 passengers.
Since the merger of Volvo India into VECV less than a year ago, the company has been offering connectivity in all of its trucks and buses and so the new Eicher bus also features connectivity. On-board telematics ensures benefits like GPS location, electronic ticketing, fleet management and also vehicle diagnostics.
Akash Passey, President, Bus Division, VECV, informed BigGaddi.com that the new range will be Eicher’s finest bus in India with a design etiquette from Volvo. The company is targetting sales of 5,000-6,000 buses in the air-conditioned premium front-engined bus segment, which is currently serviced by Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. This new range will be the first factory-built bus in this category. The target market will be long-distance fleet operators.
Volvo Eicher will be launching more new products in the next six to eight months, including electric and city buses.
For a wholesome public transport system that pays attention to last-mile connectivity, Passey explains that partnerships will be very relevant in the near future citing an example of several European cities that use a travel card that can be used to pay for various modes of public transport, including ferries and electric two-wheelers.
Specifications of the new Eicher bus
The Eicher 6016 R LPO 12.4 m chassis is designed for improved structural strength and has a corrosion-free fuel tank and high-capacity alternator.
The range built on the Eicher 6016 R LPO 12.4 m chassis is equipped with a 5.1-litre VEDX5 engine derived from Volvo Group’s global powertrain family. The engine is capable of delivering 210 hp and flat torque of 825 Nm at 1,200-1,600 rpm.
The fully air-conditioned Coach seats 43 passengers with best-in-class 11.3 cu.m luggage space.
Sleeper version offers 30 berths and offers 6.5 cu.m of luggage space. Berths are separated by full-height partitions to ensure privacy and security.
The neew buses have features like Cruise Control, Fuel Coaching, Mbooster+ and Intelligent Engine Protection System.
The coach offers a theatre-type saloon seating, pushback seats and LED ambience. The bus include USB ports, reading lights, speakers, AC louvers and infotainment systems as standard.
Its dashboard is designed in line with global benchmarks and incorporates controls that are positioned and oriented for easy accessibility.