Webasto is a global leader in providing world-class heating, cooling and roof hatch solutions for cars, vans, trucks and buses. Webasto Roofsystems India Ltd., catering to both passenger cars and commercial vehicles, kicked off production at its Pune plant in 2013, following an order from Ashok Leyland.
“We offer an extensive range of roof hatches for every requirement and vehicle type for the best traveling comfort, thanks to optimum ventilation and air distribution with maximum safety combined in it. What we have here on display at IAA are the roof hatches that have been installed in Boss and Captain Vehicle from Ashok Leyland. The product has undergone a test cycle of 100,000 and is extremely durable with robust design. It has a SMC (Sheet Moulding Compound) outer frame and a hatch panel with long stainless steel handle with aluminum die-casted mechanism parts to ensure that nothing goes wrong even when a weight of 150 kg is placed on top”, explained Mr. Vikas Prasad, Vice President, Webasto Roofsystems India Pvt. Ltd., in an exclusive chat with MOTORINDIA at IAA Commercial Vehicles 2016.
Webasto represents as “all roof company” offers fixed transparent modules, panorama roofs that can be opened, sliding roofs, spoiler roofs and folding roofs. Since light-weighting is one of the major focus areas in the automotive industry, the company is working in this direction to meet the demands of customers and thereby supporting them in reducing fuel consumption.
“As the world market leader of roof systems, we are working on technologies to meet these challenges. We have a plant with 50,000 sq. ft. area, so space is not a constraint. Our challenge is to get the desired volume out of the total industry volumes for roof hatches for trucks and buses which is around 60,000 a year,” added Mr. Prasad.
At IAA 2016, on the heating and cooling side, Webasto showcased its newest innovations under the slogan ‘Heating and Cooling – efficient and customized’. The company booth had on display a powerful prototype of the electric High-Voltage Heater (HVH) for light-duty commercial vehicles and trucks, the compact transport refrigeration systems of the new and completely re-engineered Frigo Top series and the efficient Thermo Top Pro 120 and 150 water heaters for buses.