Volvo introduces specially designed heavy truck for Indian roads

Volvo Trucks has introduced its FH520 Powertronic tractor, the most powerful and technologically advanced truck, on Indian roads.

Meant for the heaviest and most demanding transportation needs, the Volvo FH520 Powertronic comes with Volvo PT2606 gearbox which is fully automatic with a built-in hydraulic torque converter and offers the possibility of manual gear changes through gear-lever buttons. The PT2606 is dimensioned for engine torque of 2600 Nm and is specially developed for heavy transport operations where it offers the advantage of smooth, gentle gear changes without any interruption in power delivery and permits safe starts even in difficult conditions.

The torque amplifier in the vehicle is designed to match the engine’s torque, offering excellent pulling power and hill-climbing ability. The driveline is made to achieve a maximum geared speed of 59 kmph in unladen conditions and 38 kmph in laden conditions. Therefore, the FH520 6x4 Powertronic is technically designed to carry a maximum load of 200 tonnes GCW (both on private and public roads with special approval from the Ministry of Surface Transport. Applications of the product range from movement of pre-cast structures, reactor bodies, high-capacity turbines transformers for power projects to windmill turbines.

Unveiling the FH520 Powertronic, Mr. Somnath Bhattacharjee, President, Volvo Trucks India, said: “Since last decade, Volvo trucks have been changing the face of the heavy-duty trucking industry in India, and we take this ‘game-changer’ role very passionately. In the last ten years we have been driving the modernization of Indian trucking Industry in terms of technology, performance, safety and emission standards. Today, Volvo Trucks enjoys 70% of the premium European heavy-duty market share in India and, with the launch of the FH520 Powertronic, our offering in the heavy haulage segment gets expanded further since this truck comes with unparalleled features that will drive the progress of the heaviest and most-demanding transportation.”

He added: “Volvo trucks are centrally-focused on improving total cost of ownership for our customers. We are constantly challenged to meet the higher performance demand set out by the customers and the industry together with generating higher profitability for the customers and at the same time reduce the environmental impact. Moreover, in pursuance to our core values, we benchmark our products against the best-in-class quality standards, highest safety standards and lowest emission levels.”

The total current population of Volvo trucks on the Indian roads is around 6,000. In the context of Volvo Truck India’s domestic sales in 2009, the company is targeting an increase in sales of 20-25% in 2010. A nation-wide world-class aftersales network of more than 90 support points, a range of soft products for delivering the most competitive performance levels, more than 90% off-the-shelf parts availability, dedicated customer-centric 24x7 action-service, all together ensure that Volvo trucks meet stringent application demands and yet remain highly reliable and efficient, delivering best-in-class uptime.