WASHINGTON: Tata Motors, which on Saturday showcased its 1040 bhp truck during a racing competition in Noida, plans to export a slightly toned down version of it for commercial usage. “We have plans to install this 12-litre ISGe Cummins engine in Prima trucks which could give around 540-550 bhp meant for the international market,” said Ravindra Pisharody, executive director – commercial vehicles, Tata Motors on the sidelines of T1 Prima truck racing held in Noida. The 1040 bhp engine has been developed in collaboration with Cummins Inc of the US.
In India, Tata Motors and Cummins have a joint venture (JV) company called Tata Cummins Pvt Ltd, established in 1994. The JV develops engines in the range of 75 to 400 bhp from its facility in Jamshedpur. Tata Motors has been pushing up its commercial vehicle (CV) segment aggressively in a bid to cushion itself from the cyclic business nature of domestic market. Further, for the overall market, Tata Motors plans to launch over 15 new products and around 200-odd product variants. The company plans to spend over Rs 2,000 crore in the CV business in the coming years. According to the company officials, the truck racing event is being organised to make truck driving more respectable profession for the drivers. The industry at present is witnessing severe shortage of truck drivers which is impacting the transportation business and the overall economy. In November 2015, road transport, highways and shipping minister Nitin Gadkari said shortage of drivers was harming the economy as there is shortage of about 22% in the country.
