With India an emerging hub for global companies, Meritor HVS (India) Ltd. is expanding its product range and operational excellence to meet the needs of domestic and global OEMs in India. Meritor (HVS) India Ltd., along with its manufacturing partner Automotive Axles Ltd. (AAL), a joint venture company promoted by Meritor Heavy Vehicle System LLC, USA, and the Kalyani Group, Pune, has been the largest independent axle manufacturer in India for the past three decades.
The company is expanding into new business segments such as LCV, off-highway, military and suspension to cater to the changing demand of commercial vehicle industry. It is also making its presence felt in the northern part of India with greenfield footprint expansion activities. During its 32 years of operations in India, Meritor has developed significant engineering capability and can apply low-cost approaches to new product initiatives & manufacturing to compete globally.
The company is focused on new product development to increase relationship with existing customers and target new customers. There are a slew of new products in the pipeline to be launched in the coming years, for both LCV and MHCV segments. Last quarter, the company has launched its first LCV axle called MS10X for Nissan Ashok Leyland’s ‘Partner’ vehicle. The MS10X is the first global axle developed by Meritor India to meet commercial vehicle requirements for both Indian and global markets. It meets and exceeds global benchmarks for reliability and performance at Indian price levels.
It can be applied on LCVs, including conventional 4×2 haulages, buses as well as front-drive steer axles. The MS10X comes with the integrated carrier design and the axle’s cold formed housing augments its credentials. Meritor is certain that the new MS10X is superior to other LCV axles in the market in terms of cost, improved component life, and higher load carrying capacity. Besides its robust design, the MS10X is customizable for both pneumatic and hydraulic brakes.
The heavy duty Hub reduction product for mining & construction tipper designated as HR MT610 recently completed its validation and has been launched with multiple customers with increased penetration being planned with other clients over the next 12 months. The company is also working with a few new entrants in the HD tipper segment. It is also coming up with new axles in off-highway & defence segments for 4×4, 6×6, 8×8, 10×10 & 12×12 applications. The company has also developed new brakes for domestic as well as global customers.
With respect to its twin-speed axle MS13-245 which offers improvement in fuel efficiency by 7 to 10 per cent and reduction in turnaround time by upto 15 per cent, the company is emphasizing on bringing in driver awareness for disciplined driving as this concept is new to the market and also to enable truck owners and driver to achieve the maximum benefit inherent in the design. Meritor plans to achieve this with two-fold strategy: direct approach, which includes conducting public demonstrations of this product at leading transportation hubs, and indirect approach, where the leading OEMs are provided with product tutorial videos which they in turn use for driver training. The company is also in the initial stages of upgrading few of its existing axles including C100, MS120, MS160 and MT160.
To create product & brand awareness across the country and ensure consistent product availability to its OEM partners, the company has expanded its aftermarket network across the country. The company currently has more than fifty distribution networks in the country. In last two quarters, it has added seven distribution networks under its belt covering states like Gujarat, UP, MP, Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh. It is planning to add more networks in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka region in near future.
With its focus on new product development, footprint expansion and cost optimization initiatives, Meritor India is meeting the current market needs and is well-positioned for future growth.