Mahindra Truck & Bus reveals crucial ICV range named Furio

Mahindra & Mahindra’s Truck and Bus Division (MTBD) today unveiled the Furio, its brand-new range of Intermediate Commercial Vehicles (ICVs). The Furio marks the company’s entry into the ICV segment and is set to make Mahindra a full range commercial vehicle player. The Mahindra Furio, which plugs the yawning gap in the company’s product portfolio, is the result of a Rs 600 crore investment and a combined effort of over 500 Mahindra engineers and 180 suppliers.

According to Dr Pawan Goenka, managing director, Mahindra & Mahindra, “The unveiling of the new Furio range of ICV trucks is a defining moment for our truck and bus business as we are set to enter a new orbit and become a full range commercial vehicle player. With Pininfarina-inspired design, the Furio is set to be a game-changer for us and perhaps for the industry, giving the new truck one of the safest, most ergonomic and comfortable cabins that will set new standards. I am confident that just like the Blazo HCV series, the Furio range of ICVs will also set new benchmarks for performance, earnings and deliver better value to customers.”

Speaking at the unveil of the ICV range in Chakan today, Rajan Wadhera, president, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra, said, “The Mahindra Furio bears testimony to Mahindra’s capability of bringing the best to Indian customers, since it is based on meticulously gathered customer insights. The launch of the Furio comes closely on the heels of the successful introduction of Mahindra’s HCV range of trucks, the Blazo, which also resulted in substantial volume and market share growth for Mahindra. With the addition of this new range of ICVs, MTB will emerge as a complete trucking solutions provider in the Indian CV market.”

The Furio range of trucks

Vinod Sahay, CEO, Mahindra Truck and Bus and Construction Equipment Divisions, Mahindra & Mahindra, said: “Indian ICV customers have been longing for a truck which can deliver higher earnings, lower operating costs, better safety, improved ergonomics, a comfortable ride and most importantly a world-class ownership experience, as an ideal package. Our new Furio range is built precisely around these elements and we are confident that it will soon be a preferred choice for ICV customers. At Mahindra Truck and Bus Division, we have revamped our portfolio and offered assurances to our customers which in turn have enabled us to outpace the market growth. Going forward, we are poised to redefine the way business is done in the ICV category and hope to have a significant share of that segment.”

ICV transporters typically look to improve their operating economics through higher mileage, low maintenance and more power for increased load-carrying capacity. Keeping this in mind, MTBD says the new MDI Tech ICV engine, which develops maximum power of 140hp at 2400rpm and 500 Nm of torque, is equipped with Mahindra’s FuelSmart technology to optimise fuel consumption. The highlight of this technology is the multimode switches to optimise fuel consumption to the load and road conditions.

Apart from this, the MDI Tech engine will be lightweight and low friction to further enhance its efficiency. The engine will offer high torque at low rpm, leading to higher performance in both inter-city and intra-city traffic conditions.

The Pininfarina touch 
Group company and renowned Italian design house Pininfarina has styled the Furio’s state-of-the-art cabin, giving the new truck one of the safest, most ergonomic and comfortable cabins in the industry.

Commenting on the Furio, Pininfarina’s CEO Silvio Pietro Angori said:  “Mahindra Furio is the latest addition to our achievements in the transportation sector, after having brought to life for more than 8 decades legendary cars but also high-speed trains, trucks, busses, yachts, airplanes and even private jets. Together with Mahindra Truck & Bus, we have created a ground-breaking innovation in the ICV category. The result is a vehicle that integrates style, function and innovation – the fundamentals of Pininfarina”.

The Pininfarina design team defined a new brand image for this range of ICVs. They have added modern features and bringing a distinctiveness in style. The exterior of the Mahindra Furio has been crafted to display the sturdy build of the vehicle, and the interiors are insightfully crafted to give the driver the best on-road experience.

Extensive road testing 
During the Furio’s development, MTBD says engine testing included two phases of accelerated testing of 8,000 hours each with different test cycles. Furio development began in 2014 with the product conceptualisation process involving in-depth interaction with over 500 customers across India to gain insights on current as well as latent needs.

This was followed by the Quality Function Deployment methodology-based study for firming up the platform strategy, which in turn led to modularity of all major models. The product development journey involved more than 500 Mahindra employees directly or indirectly. About 180 suppliers were involved in the project right from the conceptualisation phase.

The Furio range of ICVs has been tested for over 17 lakh kilometres on road during the validation process and trials. Further, rigorous highway durability trials were undertaken across the ghats, other treacherous road conditions, cities and state highways (single and double-lane roads), and high- and low-speed applications. Over 1,000 such performance tests were carried out. Structural durability validation was accomplished for the equivalent of 10 years of vehicle service life, involving all four platforms.

Further endurance tests such as sea level to high altitude trials and sub-zero to high ambient temperature trials were also undertaken.

The Furio ICV range will be manufactured at Mahindra Vehicles Manufacturing Ltd in Chakan, the company’s expansive manufacturing facility near Pune.

MTBD on an upswing
The company has been on a growth trajectory since the past few years, particularly after the Blazo range of HCVs was launched. In Q1 FY2019 (April-June 2018), MTBD has sold a total of 56,940 units (+22.58%). The company had closed FY2018 with sales of 216,800 units (+19.95) percent. MTBD has seen a higher level of customer satisfaction after it brought in integrated trucking solutions and improved levels of aftersales service, extended warranty and other brand benefits. In the first quarter of FY2019, the company sold a total of 3,164 M&HCV goods carriers, which gives it a market share of 4.02 percent in the segment, up from 3.55 percent a year ago.

The company’s HCV product range has been engineered for Indian requirements and over 40,000 Mahindra HCVs trucks currently ply on Indian roads. The company is in process of addressing every segment of the commercial vehicle market – from 3.5-tonne GVW to 49-tonne GVW, with variants that meet the varying needs of cargo and specialised load applications. The new Furio ICV range fits into this   

MTBD’s new range of M&HCVs is manufactured at the new greenfield plant at Chakan. The plant, spans over 700 acres, has been set up with an investment of over Rs 4,000 crore and produces other Mahindra products as well.

In the LCV segment, MTBD says it has a market share of 9.4 percent; over 185,000 such vehicles are already on the roads. The entire range of LCV load vehicles and buses is manufactured in the Mahindra & Mahindra plant at Zaheerabad.

MTBD’s aftersales service and spares network now includes 100 3S dealerships, 149 authorised service centres, 32 M-Parts plazas and 2,900 roadside assistance points and spares network of more than 1,600 retail outlets.

Also read: Vinod Sahay: “We have set a target to make Mahindra Trucks & Bus profitable at EBIDTA level in FY2019.”

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