[GTO]

High Points

- Eicher handed over the first lot of 10 Rear Engine Semi Low Floor (RESLF) City Buses to the Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation.

- These City Buses have a Rear Engine and a low Floor height. Low Floor Buses, either with a one or two step entry, are easier to board and alight from.

- It was in the 2010 Auto Expo that Eicher showcased the first prototype of its Rear Engine Semi Low Floor City Bus.

- Eicher has launched another new model - the Eicher 11.12 - which is a 12 Ton GVW / 4650 MM Wheelbase Platform. It is an intermediate product powered by a four cylinder 95KW engine with seating capacity similar to a six cylinder vehicle. This vehicle is suited for deployment in the School, Staff, Tourist and even the Stage Carriage Segments.

[wild child]

wow, that's great news indeed.
Finally, Eicher has captured the city bus market as well.
watch out Tata and Leyland !
I belive Eicher trucks/buses are well known for the following
1.decent fuel consumption ( better than the others in the market )
2. competitive pricing
3. overall performace at par with the existing market players.
4. cheap maintenance
Good luck to Eicher!
cheers

[MileCruncher]

Looks like every manufacturer is joining the rear engine bus bandwagon. But this 95KW /115 HP engine is no match to the Tata Marcopolo buses. Also looks like Eicher will aim at the tier-II cities as the Tier-I is market for Volvo with whom they have a JV.

Cheers

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Does that read Ram Shyam?? Does not look nice on a STU. Secularism et al. (no - I am not anti-Modi, and am a Hindu).


Since Eicher is claimed to give better FE - yes; lower power and lesser cylinders on a 12 tonne GVW (when all 10 tonners provide 6 cylinders) is bound to give better FE. The price to pay would be slower vehicle, higher maintenance cost (higher wear and tear on over strained engines), shorter maintenance cycles, etc.

Since the JV between Volvo - Eicher has come up - does this vehicle use any inputs from that JV?

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by MileCruncher

Looks like every manufacturer is joining the rear engine bus bandwagon. But this 95KW /115 HP engine is no match to the Tata Marcopolo buses. Also looks like Eicher will aim at the tier-II cities as the Tier-I is market for Volvo with whom they have a JV.

But, the bus in question - the RESLF bus does NOT come with a 115hp engine. The engine was more powerful when it was showcased at Auto Expo - guess it was a 160/180hp engine.

The 115hp engine powers another product, not the RESLF:

Originally Posted by GTO

- Eicher has launched another new model - the Eicher 11.12 - which is a 12 Ton GVW / 4650 MM Wheelbase Platform. It is an intermediate product powered by a four cylinder 95KW engine with seating capacity similar to a six cylinder vehicle. This vehicle is suited for deployment in the School, Staff, Tourist and even the Stage Carriage Segments.

On a side note: Eicher would not compete directly with Volvo - they are targeting different segments. Eicher is selling RESLF buses (both AC and Non-AC) while Volvo sells RE-ULE buses (AC alone). So, Eicher would be entering all markets, and not restricted to Tier-II.

Heard from a few sources that JnNURM Phase II is coming soon - looks like Eicher is waiting to hit a jackpot there.

[condor]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Does that read Ram Shyam?? Does not look nice on a STU. Secularism et al.

It is "Ashram", a place in Amdavad.

[Transsenger]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Since Eicher is claimed to give better FE - yes; lower power and lesser cylinders on a 12 tonne GVW (when all 10 tonners provide 6 cylinders) is bound to give better FE. The price to pay would be slower vehicle, higher maintenance cost (higher wear and tear on over strained engines), shorter maintenance cycles, etc.

Since the JV between Volvo - Eicher has come up - does this vehicle use any inputs from that JV?

These days, no 10 tonners come with 6 cylinder engines here in India. The 12ton segment was revived recently by AL with its Ecomet1212, followed by SML and now Eicher has come. The subject new model Eicher11.12 would compete with AL Lynx it seems.

Meanwhile, in near future, we will find VECV's MDEP engines, developed jointly with Volvo, powering these RE buses and other Eicher trucks etc.


With the recent order for 400 bus chassis (Eicher 20.15) from APSRTC, and now this launch, Eicher is all set to make a re-entry in the STU segment across India.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by Transsenger

With the recent order for 400 bus chassis (Eicher 20.15) from APSRTC, and now this launch, Eicher is all set to make a re-entry in the STU segment across India.

Eicher had made a disgraced exit from KeSRTC - reportedly due to spare parts availability issues. BMTC had taken Eichers - they still are running. Infact, they ride really well, and I had loved all my rides in them. Hope this time they get things right.

KeSRTC, when calling tenders for supply of chassis, had set a per-requisite of having supplied at least 2000 buses to an STU - guess this was to keep Eicher out of the race.

[SirAlec]

Good, as GSRTC needed them with utmost urgency. The older Ashok leyland buses were bought as chassis and build very cheaply. Twice it fell into the Gorge here at my place. The condition of bus was in a very sad state. It didn't look like a bus at all.

This monsoon, the accident was very serious and due to brake fail it fell into a deep gorge. 22 people died including many children.

[Ashley2]

But why is Eicher entering a low volume Rear engine semi low floor product?
The highest volume in city bus segment is still the Front engine Semi Low Floor mastered by AL and now followed by TM.
Ideally they should have targeted that segment which will be easy for them to penetrate all STU's as Non AC Rear engine low floor is not preferred by many!

But keeping this apart, I sincere wish they come up with more products in a phased manner!

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by Ashley2

But why is Eicher entering a low volume Rear engine semi low floor product?

Because this is where margins and growth lies. AL had foreseen this market - but that was too early. SOmetime in early 1980s. (yes, AL had vestibules and RE buses back then).

The highest volume in city bus segment is still the Front engine Semi Low Floor mastered by AL and now followed by TM.

???

FE SLF?? Is that a typo?? I think FE SLFs were airport tarmac only vehicles - since they were also front wheel drive?? Did I get it wrong?

Ideally they should have targeted that segment which will be easy for them to penetrate all STU's as Non AC Rear engine low floor is not preferred by many!

Well ... the SLFs, both a/c and non-ac are a hit in KL. Partly due to their different routes. Mostly due to comfort and lower crowds. But they are crowded most of the time.

But keeping this apart, I sincere wish they come up with more products in a phased manner!

The bus code is going to force small and disorganised body building shops out of business. With organised M/HCV body building poised to grow, price differential between "normal" FE-normal GC passenger vehicles and RE (non SLF) vehicles is going to narrow. The Difference between normal GC and S/LF will be further narrowed.

ALL, the innovator and pioneer of 1980s is for some reason lagging - esp in the premium segment (RE, SLF /ULE, with a/c). Hey, pull up your socks you guys!!!

The market is getting re-defined.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

FE SLF?? Is that a typo?? I think FE SLFs were airport tarmac only vehicles - since they were also front wheel drive?? Did I get it wrong?

Er! But I guess you are confusing a bit here - aren't the Airport Tarmac coaches "FE Low Floor" buses?? The FE SLFs are those supplied by AL/TML to various operators like MTC/TNSTC/BMTC/BEST/NMMT, etc for the JnNURM orders.

FE buses are prefered by STUs for the ease of maintenance and their low cost of acquisition. For some reason, RE buses are considered high on maintenance by STUs, and are not preferred in the volume segment.

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

Well ... the SLFs, both a/c and non-ac are a hit in KL. Partly due to their different routes. Mostly due to comfort and lower crowds. But they are crowded most of the time.

Are there any SLFs in Kerala? I haven't seen any. We have only the AC ULE, and the non-AC RE LF. The Non-AC buses supplied by Ashok Leyland are "Rear Engine Low Floor" buses and not "Semi-Low Floor buses". The AL RESLF buses are comfortable - but the drivers are not properly trained in using them. I've seen drivers raising the buses heavily to get them moving - while drivers who are also used to driving Volvos drive these buses with ease!

A known person working with KeSRTC was actually praising the RE-LFs, the only grouse he had was the poor quality of body.

[Ashley2]

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

.
???
FE SLF?? Is that a typo?? I think FE SLFs were airport tarmac only vehicles - since they were also front wheel drive?? Did I get it wrong?

The true tarmac coaches are FE ULF - Ultra Low Floor!
These FE buses are preferred in tarmac application as they have the highest floor space compared to the similar RE bus.

But here in India RE SLF's are dominating - Indigo and Spice Jet are almost 100% RESLF (AL make)

Originally Posted by BaCkSeAtDrIVeR

.... With organised M/HCV body building poised to grow, price differential between "normal" FE-normal GC passenger vehicles and RE (non SLF) vehicles is going to narrow. The Difference between normal GC and S/LF will be further narrowed. .

I understand you meant standard buses as Normal GC buses - E+3!
These buses will soon only be in history as already MORTH have defined the max floor height will be 900 mm. That's the reason JNnurm have also called for the tenders to supply buses only with max entry height of 900mm.

This other point of narrow price gap between FE SLF and RE LF is also unlikely to come as the RE bsues are always at a little premium over their FE counter parts and manufacturers unlikely to reduce the price.

Meanwhile this equation will change if some one develops a FE LF - (E+1) the price war may start. But such a product to my knowledge does not exists.

The other chance is that there are talks to reduce the 900 mm to 650mm by the same minsitry!

[Ashley2]

From Auto Expo 2010.

[amtak]

I wonder when will BEST use proper low floor buses. I know they have "Cerita" but why not use Eicher/Volvo/AL/TM buses.