Tata's Novus to join fight for truck market

Tata Motors is all set to launch its 'Novus' range of trucks in the Indian market on December 14. The company has set up a manufacturing facility to produce 6,000 trucks per annum at Jamshedpur for the purpose.

Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Shyam Mani, vice president, commercial vehicles business unit, Tata Motors said that the company will launch a twin axle 16 tonne tipper under the 'Novus' range. It is part of the range of products presently manufactured by Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle Co Ltd (TDCV) in Korea.

"We will also use the Indian plant to export it to other countries later. We have identified potential markets where we can be the dominant players," Mani said.

After achieving considerable success in the Korean market, the company decided to launch the 'Novus' range of trucks in the Indian market and set up an exclusive plant for it, he said. The Novus heavy duty tipper is fitted with Cummins C8.3 engine which delivers 300 PS power, global positioning system, data logger and tiltable steering.

He said, Tata Motors was also looking at entering partnerships with world leaders for manufacturing buses and other commercial vehicles. The company had recently acquired a 21 per cent stake in the Spanish bus manufacturing company, Hispano Carrocera, with the option of acquiring a 100 per cent holding.

Commenting on the success of the Tata Ace, a mini truck launched in May this year, Mani said that the company has sold about 16,000 units till now in the four southern states and Maharashtra.

"We have received excellent response from the market for the product and we are presently unable to meet the demand from the five states. We can produce only 3,000 units per month and once we enhance the production capacity, we will launch it in other states," he said.

Tata Motors is exhibiting the Novus range of trucks, Tata LPT 2515 BSII 23 CUM bulker and Tata LPS 4018 BSII 42 CUM bulker trucks at the Excon 2005 exhibition commencing here on Wednesday.