Tata Motors has consistently improved on its market share in the bus segment by expanding its product offering. The company’s JV with Marcopolo and the acquisition of Hispano have helped in expanding the product range and offering more contemporary products to the market.Mr. Ashish Tandon, Head of Bus Business, Tata Motors, says: “We recognize the fact that the bus market is the most stable. In 2009-10 when recession hit the global market, the bus market remained most stable. With increasing road traffic and the resulting congestion on roads, combined with the improved quality of buses, people will move from personalized vehicles to public transportation. Currently the per passenger travel in India is 7 km. This will double in the next five years. We remain fully conscious that buses will have better future”.
Tata Motors’ bus manufacturing centers are primarily at Lucknow, Dharwad and Goa through ACGL. The company today offers the complete range of buses for passenger transportation, starting from the high-end luxury bus Divo to the Winger Vans and Magic, which is for last mile transportation. The company is working on introducing new products to meet market demand.In the top-end inter-city luxury bus segment, Tata Motors has launched its Divo, which is from the Hispano stable. The vehicle model replaces the Globus and is meant for inter-city passenger transportation and tourist operations with a high level of luxury and comfort. The Divo styling comes from Hispano Carrocera of Spain which is a fully-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors. The bus is BS III compliant, with a 285 hp Cummins engine. The standard variant has seating capacity of 46 and can be customised as per passenger and operator requirement. These buses are currently built at ACGL’s plant at Goa.
Tata Motors recently launched the 42-seater Starbus built on the latest Tata LPO 9.6T/5200 mm wheel base platform. The Tata Starbus has many superior features like 6-speed gearbox with overdrive, cable shift gear box, tubeless tyres and parabolic suspension. It is one of the best dimensioned buses in its category with a length of 1,012 mm, width of 2,340 mm, and floor height of 850 mm offering ease in boarding and alighting, and is spacious in terms of comfort and economics to passengers as well as operators. The bus is equipped with a front overhang of 1,800 mm, one of the best in its class, and a door in the front for the best utilization of internal space. The bus has brand new front Facia from Tata Marcopolo with improved interior and exterior styling and aesthetics.
Another recent launch is the 40-seater school bus which comes with the factory-fitted air-conditioning system. Tata Starbus School is a 40-seater with 25 school safety features. It is a fully built, factory-fitted, engine-driven AC bus wherein the AC variants are available in 36 and 40 seats as standard models. It is BS-III compliant and is also ready for meeting the BS-IV emission norms.
Tata Motors is increasingly moving towards offering fully-built solutions in the bus segment. Mr. Tandon says: “5 years back the LCVs were sold mostly as chassis but now 70% of the LCV and ICV are sold as fully built units. We plan to enhance the range at Dharwad going upto MCV also. As of now MCV is sold as chassis but now we are planning to offer it as fully built buses. We have invested Rs. 800 crores till date in our Tata Marcopolo venture. The JV has been very successful in the last 3 years with the Dharwad plant producing 12,000 buses per annum and going forward we have plans to increase it to 20, 000 buses per annum”.
In the HCV segment, Tata Motors offers the Divo in the top-end inter-city luxury bus segment. In the HCV mass-market segment, the company currently offers the LPO 1616 and 1618, which comes fitted with the retarder. In the next one year, the company will launch a product in the HCV mass market segment. It is already developing a model at Tata Marcopolo, which is a fully built bus in the coach segment with AC and non-AC options.
Some of the other products introduced by Tata Motors recently are Pleazur, a concept coach which showcases a mobile class room / conference room built on Tata LPO 1512, with seating capacity of 20 individuals. The BS III-compliant concept coach comes with AC and LCD screens that complete the ambience for a meeting or training while travelling. It is ideal for offsite trainings, NGOs working in rural areas and field-level awareness and alleviation programmes.
In 2010, coinciding with the CWG Games in New Delhi, Tata showcased its first Hybrid Starbus meant for intra-city transportation. The vehicle is powered with a parellel hybrid engine comprising an internal combustion CNG engine and an electric motor using regenerative energy storage system. Parallel hybrid technology uses power generation simultaneously through both the CNG engine and the electric motor to drive the vehicle. The system reutilises lost braking energy to recharge the battery.
The Tata hybrid Starbus offers substantial improvement in fuel economy as compared to a conventional bus. As a result, the usage of this technology leads to lower emissions, thereby contributing to cleaner air and a greener, more environment-friendly commercial passenger transportation application.The low-floor (floor height: 400 mm) air-conditioned bus can seat 32 passengers, and can also accommodate wheel chairs. Pneumatically-operated in-swing and out-swing flat doors and kneeling facility allow easy entry and exit, reducing halt time and trip lengths. Full air suspension and telescopic double-acting shock absorbers provide excellent ride quality, while an energy-efficient HVAC system enhances comfort. With high starting acceleration, and a maximum speed of 70 km per hour, the Hybrid Starbus is an innovative solution for fast and comfortable intra-city passenger movement in an environment-friendly manner.
Another interesting product developed on the Winger platform is the Tata Interceptor van. The Tata Interceptor is loaded with the Interceptor technology (with camera, speed monitoring laser gun, GSM module, and laptop), developed to catch traffic violation, e.g., signal jumps, over-speeding, rash driving and riding without helmets, and helps in producing documentary evidences of traffic violations.
Another product on the Winger platform is the emergency ambulance. The new Winger ambulance is meant for emergency response in critical situations. Equipped with a laptop and V-sat connectivity, it facilitates communication between a hospital and the ambulance for patient management even in transit. The air-conditioned full feature single stretcher ambulance, with fresh-air ventilation and demisting facility, has a cardiac monitor/defibrillator, oxygen delivery system, IV fluid hooks, cctv, intercom, 12-volt DC plug points, 270 deg tail gate opening, 230-volt AC plug points and external charging ports. The ambulance has been specially built with DC design, demonstrating the versatility of the Winger.Tata Motors has introduced a Starbus 19 CNG. Keeping in mind the increasing availability of CNG across India, the company has launched this 19-seater bus which is ideal for staff and tours and feeder route services within the city and adjoining areas. With sequential gas injection system, this bus meets the BS-IV emission norms.
The company has also launched the Starbus 24, a BS III compliant, ideal for staff and tour operations. Available in school versions, this bus enters the 24-seat category. Meeting AIS 052, the bus has the best body styling and interior comforts.
Tata Motors expects bus business to grow at 10-12 per cent CAGR. For the current year the company expects to sell over 34,000 vehicles of all models.
