Revolutionising Logistics The Power, Precision & Future of CV: Gagandeep Singh Gandhok
Excerpts:
The demand for CVs is increasing to meet logistics needs. Can you provide a brief overview of these newly introduced machines?
We have three trucks and one tipper to fulfil the growing CV demand. The first is a 48-tonne rigid truck, essentially a 16-tyre vehicle powered by a 300-horsepower engine delivering 1200 Newtonne-metres of torque. It features a slipper suspension, specifically a parabolic one.
Following that, we have two tractors. The first is a six-by-four, while the second is a four-by-two, both equipped with 300 horsepower and 1200 Newton-metres of torque. The last one in the series is a tipper — specifically, a four-by-two two-tipper, denoting six-tyre tippers boasting 240 horsepower, 900 Newton-metres of torque, and a load body capacity ranging from 8.5 to 10.5 metric tonnes.
What is the thought behind increasing the power of these trucks?
To meet the growing demand in logistics in the shortest amount of time, we need more power to do the jobs.
Take a look at an example from the application side of the e-commerce sector: consumers want items delivered to their doorstep the following day, just by clicking a button. Rapid transportation is required in this process and we need powerful trucks to meet the demand.
Driving quality has also improved as a result of infrastructure development with good roads and highways.
With an increase in engine horsepower, will fuel efficiency be impacted?
In CV, the power weight is important. The migration has happened from a lower-tonnage truck to a higher-tonnage truck to carry heavy loads easily. Now, people are buying more 48-tonne, 35-tonne or 28-tonne trucks. When dealing with heavier loads, more power is required to pull the load effectively. Therefore, as mentioned earlier, when the torque at the wheels is better and you can drive that load using higher gears without frequent gear changes, your fuel efficiency improves compared to an underpowered engine with smaller gears.
This is a time when demand for reducing logistics costs is rising. How is Eicher Motors managing the need for logistics cost reduction?
Our trucks are the best in class when it comes to fuel efficiency. If you consider that logistics cost constitutes 50 per cent of the overall expenses and fuel represents a significant portion of that cost. Even a modest 10 per cent reduction in this 50 per cent (equivalent to five per cent) can have a substantial impact. Therefore, it is crucial for us to focus on reducing costs, particularly in fuel, to significantly enhance overall logistics efficiency.
Since technology is developing and we live in the digital age, what kind of contemporary technology do you bring with your product?
100 per cent of our trucks are connected trucks now. When they are connected, there are multiple things that we can do.
First, we can do a predictive diagnostic. When something is about to go wrong in a truck, the truck will alert us so that we can inform the customer and the driver in order to avoid consequential damages.
Furthermore, these trucks have features that offer various informational bits, such as the standard track and trace, fuel management that routes fuel as it is used, driving behaviour that indicates how well the driver is operating the truck, aftermarket services, documentation services, predictive diagnostics and remote diagnostics.
What specific ways will artificial intelligence and machine learning be helpful here?
For instance, we can determine from the type of information the truck returns whether something is going to go wrong with it. Thus, there are numerous things we can instruct the driver in as well. The app includes a large number of DIY (do it yourself) tutorials. That means the driver can access what needs to be done by me directly from the app and complete it on his own.
What if drivers were not able to understand English? Is there local language support for this?
Yes, the call centre is equipped with seven languages. There is a tutorial and we can navigate them with the application in their preferred language. so the drivers can do it by themselves. Or they can take it to the nearest workshop.
Similarly, if a truck is at our workshop and a mechanic is unable to solve a problem, we can assess that truck from our uptime centre and guide that mechanic as well.
What are the facilities available for drivers to ensure comfortable driving?
As mentioned, these trucks are all power-assisted, with steering and power-assisted brakes. There are economically designed cabins. Where we provide that comfort to the driver, he can actually drive for a longer number of hours. The trucks come with cruise control.
They drive on highways for five, six, or seven hours every day. For the most part, they have to step on the brake or accelerator. For drivers, driving is made easier if they set it to cruise control. Eventually, these are machines that are meant to run more.
Utilising functions such as cruise control, M-booster technology, and continuous fuel coaching, the dashboard notifies the driver when shifting gears, when to accelerate, and when to decelerate. The driver learns a lot from this, and in the end, it allows them to save fuel.
What impact do you think EVs will have in the cargo market going forward?
Relevent Modernisation is one of the core elements in the commercial vehicle segment space in India and the developing world.
For EVs, I think when the infrastructure gets ready, the trucking industry will also move into the EV sector.
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