Ashok Leyland launches 3718 Plus and Captain range of Haulage Trucks

Owing to the stricter law enforcement for rated load applications and better operating economics, the market of heavy duty multi-axle trucks is shifting towards higher GVW. 37 Ton being the highest GVW offered by rigid haulage trucks in India currently, this tonnage is fast becoming the preferred choice of transporters. As per an estimate, 37T TIV share has gone up from 20% to 60% of the total multi axle truck volumes in the past 5 months. Ashok Leyland, flagship company of the Hinduja Group & leading manufacturer of heavy Commercial Vehicles in India, which bought the first 10x2 haulage truck to India, recently launched the new 3718 Plus, to maintain its supremacy in the fastest growing HCV trucks segment. The new 37 Tonner will continue to come with Pusher lift axle and 27.5 feet or 29.5 feet loading span options. The new Ashok Leyland 3718 Plus truck, according to the company, offers 10 percent fuel savings, 225 Kg higher payload and 10 percent extra tyre life from new technology tyres. 3718 Plus comes with uniquely developed X-Guard tyre pattern from Michelin. 

The company also expanded the Captain series to Haulage range of heavy trucks in 25T, 31T and 37T GVW. The Captain Haulage trucks are designed to deliver higher uptime and faster turnaround time to meet the high productivity demands of the logistics industry. Captain Series is powered by the H series CRS engine with iEGR (Intelligent Exhaust Gas Recirculation) technology, and offers higher initial pickup, superior driveability and better fuel efficiency. With international styling, comfort and designed for the Indian operating conditions, the Captain Series will be available in both AC and non AC variants. These vehicles also come with an essential safety feature called Frontal Crash Protection. This feature helps the vehicle to absorb the impact in case of an unfortunate incident of head-on collision and keeps the occupants of the vehicle safe. The range is built for a wide number of applications like Tankers, Cement Bulkers, Containers, Market Load and Parcel. 

Speaking at the launch function, Mr. Anuj Kathuria, President, Global Trucks, Ashok Leyland, said, “Ashok Leyland has been gaining customers' trust across the country, across segments. This has been possible owing to our winning combination of products, our innovation-led technologies, and our customer-first approach. As part of our strategy to further grow and strengthen our leadership, the Captain Haulage and 3718 Plus will play an important role. The winning combination includes competitive price point, higher fuel efficiency, more payload and heavy duty aggregates resulting in lower operating cost, maintenance cost, better maneuverability and durability. All of this combined with our innovative iEGR technology, will help reduce operating costs for customers, resulting in higher profitability.” Unitized Wheel Bearings are now available as an optional feature on the 37T & 31T range. With unitised wheel bearings, grease is packed for life and no periodical hub greasing, end play adjustment or bearing replacement is required. 

To get a share of this burgeoning 37 Ton industry pie, all Indian Commercial Vehicle manufacturers today have a product at this GVW point. While Tata Motors has LPT 3718 with options of both Pusher Lift Axle as well as Tag Lift Axle, VE Commercial Vehicles has Eicher Pro 6037 from its latest Pro 6000 Series stable, Mahindra has Blazo 37 and BharatBenz has the next gen 3723R. All these manufacturers use SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) technology in their 37T products which uses an additional consumable called Ad-Blue (commonly known as liquid urea), whereas Ashok Leyland uses iEGR (Intelligent Exhaust Gas Recirculation) which doesn’t need any additional consumable to meet the BSIV emission norms.