Tipper industry has shown resilience and we expect this to remain that way.

– Jalaj Gupta

Business Head – Commercial Vehicles, Mahindra & Mahindra

Mining is one of the key sectors which contributes immensely for infrastructure and helps develop economies. What do you think is the current market for mining equipment / HD trucks in India?

The India Tipper and HD truck market is thriving on the back of increasing opportunities generated by the rising coal and mineral mining in the country due to commodity demand cycle improvement and the bounce back of economy after the downfall due to Covid-19 pandemic. There was hangover on demand due to change in Bharat Stage (BS) Norms, from Apr’20 India became BS6 compliant country. In FY’21 total Heavy Commercial Vehicle industry volume stood around 87,000 Units and it de-grew by 21% wrt FY’20. However, tipper industry volume grew by 1% to touch around 40,000 units. Tipper industry has shown resilience and we expect this to remain it that way since in budget for FY’22 and FY’23 GoI has planned aggressive expenditure on Infrastructure development with capital allocation more than INR 1 Lakh Cr to Construction and Mining. Apart from this there are several projects expected with Public Private Partnership mode. Government is also expecting that this will start major corporates CAPEX cycle, and this will be one of growth drivers for Tippers/Mining equipment deployed in Mining and Construction Industry.

Which equipment do you think are the demand drivers in the mining / HD trucks sector and how geared up are you to meet this demand surge?

The major growth drivers of the industry going forward will be are as follows: Ease of mining ban or being lifted and surge in coal mining; Increase in road construction activity pan india; Real estate getting back on track; Irrigation projects surge; Power projects in execution mode and more being commissioned.

At present, the recovery is predicted on an expected pick-up in construction activities, fleet utilization and private consumption. The industry is expecting to see some off take in volumes in the forthcoming period led by the release of government contracts and catching up of mining and construction activities.

Technologies are changing mining industry’s future. What are the latest technological trends in your range of mining / HD trucks?

We at Mahindra Truck and Bus, offer the following features in BLAZO X HCV Tippers HD trucks in 28T, 35T and 42T GVW points:

• 7.2L – mPOWER 6 Cylinder BS6 ready with multimode facility.
• 6 separate cylinder heads and wet liners leading to easy repairability and lower maintenance cost.
• 1050 Nm High torque for optimal performance under various terrain and load conditions
• More durable heavy-duty Eaton gearbox with increased input torque capacity.
• Meritor/American higher grade/series of axles used in BS6 leading to better durability/life.
• High strength Steel Metal –chassis frame with reinforcement for carrying extra load
• High-density Polyethylene (HDPE) 260L fuel tank incorporated for better durability & rust free.
• Heavy duty inverted bogie suspension for carrying extra load.

We have made the following technology changes in view of road construction/mining/quarry operation segment :

–   Significant engine technology changes including improvements in engine combustion and calibration, increased injection and cylinder pressures, NOx and PM after-treatment solutions and transitioning to electronic controls has resulted in increased vehicle cost and has impacted the end customer price.

–   BS6 regulatory requirements need significant validation and ATS functioning is greatly impacted by duty cycle. Special applications for which BS4 variants were applicable are now being revisited w.r.t BS6 variants for ATS functionality in slow duty cycles, Fire tender, etc.

–   Remaining vehicle variant availability apart from the lead models as BS6 validation takes significant amount time for end-to-end trials.

We have always been at the forefront of aftermarket initiatives to differentiate out offering and provide unparallel services. To name few unique initiatives: iMAXX fitment on all vehicles for health monitoring and real time alerts; Parts Plaza outlets for Major Parts availability; Guarantees on Turnaround at Authorized Mahindra Workshops;  Fast and Prompt Services on National Highways

What are the key maintenance practices to be followed for the upkeep of mining / HD trucks?

Road Construction and Mining is an intense time-consuming process. Ensuring vehicle operating up to 22 ~23 hours per day is the key for profitability. Identification of right product to suit the operations ensures right beginning. Post start of operations maintaining the vehicle is of paramount importance. We offer comprehensive AMC and other customized aftermarket services to suit the operating requirement of customers. We offer onsite support to customers and ensure 98 percent plus uptime of tippers at site. We are in process of setting up more exclusive Parts Retail Outlets – MPARTS Plazas to ensure fair priced original genuine parts availability pan India.

Mahindra provides comprehensive and round the clock Service Support to the Tipper customers engaged in mining/construction, which includes onsite support of mechanics and spares stocking to fleet of 10+ vehicles fleet. Additionally, Mobile Service van/ Mobile Workshop support along with critical, fast moving Spare Parts is also made available. Mahindra provides standard warranty 4000 hours or 24 months and extended warranty of 6000 hours or 48 months whichever is earlier.

Total Network Strength of MTB as on date is 90+ 3S dealerships, 215+ Authorized Service Centres, 34 strategically located MPARTS Plazas and spares network of 1600 retail outlets towards the support has been aligned in terms of training, equipment diagnosis with the new BSVI engines and emission norms implemented.

Additionally when we were migrating into BSVI, we knew with the added complexities of Emission related Engine Peripherals and electronics coming into the vehicles, we will have to handle more number of customer call/ alerts/ concerns as the interventions required while driving/ maintaining the trucks will be more and complex. Moreover, getting initial feedback in the early months of BSVI adoption due to Pandemic and Pandemic related restrictions would be difficult, physically.

We already had launched iMAXX in BSIV regime through aftermarket route and we decided to make iMAXX as factory fitted and free of cost solution to customers in BSVI era. Hence, we have also conceptualized a Virtual Monitoring Room through Service and Engineering point of view which will provide real time information of the vehicles. We were interested to know, the fault codes generated, the engine and peripherals temp, lubrications systems and the overall health of the vehicles.

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