Vans are the auto variations of long-distance runners. They carry a lone driver, tonnes of products, solitude, just a few songs and, typically, a vibrant slogan close to the tail lamp, “Has mat pagli pyar ho jayega (Don’t smile woman, I’ll fall in love with you).” However folks seldom fell in love with a plain ol’ lorry whose designs had been unremarkable and creature comforts non-existent. Till lately.Daily, Bhim Singh would load his truck with potatoes, cabbages and carrots from Ooty and take them to the bustling markets in Kochi, about 300 km away. It had been a backbreaking drive for years till he bought a break along with his new truck, Eicher Professional 3019. He says the truck has lower his time on the highway by one-fifth and its air-conditioned cabin is a aid, particularly when it touches the plains of Kerala. The brand new automobile’s system, which tracks gasoline consumption and upkeep necessities, additionally maximises mileage, says a relieved Singh.
Designers of business autos (CVs) at main vehicle corporations—from Tata Motors and Mahindra and Mahindra to Ashok Leyland, VE Industrial Autos and Daimler India—are steering a change in the appear and feel of the truck. Their design philosophy has developed with the altering wants of a industrial automobile person—the lorry driver, who spends lengthy, lonely hours on the highway and wonders why his truck can’t be at the very least as snug as a automobile.
Few perceive this want higher than Mahindra & Mahindra, which offered over 260,000 CVs, together with vehicles, gentle industrial autos and buses, in India in FY2024. Says Pratap Bose, chief design and inventive officer, auto and farm sector, Mahindra and Mahindra: “This shift in design has been pushed by the altering aspirations of business automobile customers. The driving force is consistently uncovered to high-quality design even on finances merchandise resembling entry-level hatchbacks. A good-looking industrial automobile is certain to draw extra consumers.”
Franz von Holzhausen, chief designer of Tesla and the person behind the polarising design of the angular, stainless steel-clad Cybertruck, has rued that the “three-box form” of the pick-up truck has not modified for the previous 60-70 years. Whereas the design of the Indian truck—a twobox, cab-over-engine —has not been disrupted, it’s quietly and certainly advancing by way of aesthetics and aerodynamics.
Truck with design
Eicher has developed its personal design language that’s applied throughout merchandise. Vinod Aggarwal, MD and CEO of VE Industrial Autos (VECV), a three way partnership between Volvo Group and Eicher Motors, says, “A giant a part of our design is automobile use. Eicher’s smaller autos that function in city areas have modern, car-like interiors to supply drivers with the performance they should navigate powerful metropolis site visitors. On the different finish of the spectrum, Eicher Professional 8000 heavy autos emphasise ergonomics, security, ruggedness and energy whereas providing the driving force consolation, storage and dwelling house to relaxation comfortably throughout lengthy journeys.”Design is a balancing act between type and performance, says Martin Uhlarik, head of worldwide design of Tata Motors. It’s the chief in industrial autos, promoting a b o u t 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 vehicles in India yearly. Its Prime and Signa vehicles have driver-focused cabins with easy-to-access controls. “We now have launched options after learning the utilization of heavy truckers on long-haul journey and built-in practical utilities like good storage, ergonomic bunks for sleeping and different easy designs to make a trucker’s life higher,” says Uhlarik.
These modifications have a cascading impact. Sagar Pawar, proprietor of Punebased SP Prepared Combine Concrete, has a fleet of Tata’s flagship truck, Prima. He says drivers adhere to schedules higher due to the improved consolation and effectivity supplied by these new vehicles. “This helps us improve the reliability of our personal service, giving prospects higher confidence in our capabilities,” he says.
A visit from Delhi to Kanyakumari used to take 9-10 days. In fashionable vehicles, it may be d o n e i n five-six d ay s. Fleet operators say drivers clock 9,000-14,000 km a month as towards 5,000 earlier. “Now, drivers don’t have too many complaints because the vehicles have gotten 300% higher,” says Ramesh Agarwal, MD of Agarwal Packers & Movers, a relocation companies firm. He began with 4 industrial autos in 1986. As we speak, he has 1,800 fashionable vehicles.
The evolution of a truck design is an extended course of. Says Mahindra’s Bose: “It begins with sketch ideas which can be transformed to a full-scale showproduct. Earlier than that, the design has to mature via loops of claymodel iterations, digital-data evolution and cautious choice of hardwearing but interesting supplies for the cabin.”
All through the design course of, producers take a look at prototypes extensively, guaranteeing that each aesthetic alternative enhances practicality. From aerodynamic effectivity to driver consolation, every design aspect ought to contribute to the automobile’s efficiency and its visible enchantment, say producers.
Earlier than conceptualisation, there’s a essential half: an intense section of “dwelling with the customers” to know their expectations and desires. “These, integrated into design, would make sure the product is interesting by way of look, really feel and utilization,” says Bose.
Opening new doorways
The rise of electrical autos will dramatically change the best way CVs are designed. Mahesh Babu, CEO of Change Mobility, the electrical arm of Ashok Leyland, says electrical mobility has opened new doorways for design innovation. “Electrical drivetrains supply higher flexibility as they eradicate the necessity for cumbersome engines and gasoline tanks, offering extra freedom in design. We are able to now combine aesthetics with performance in ways in which had been inconceivable with typical drivet r a i n s, ” h e s ay s. “ To d ay ’s industrial autos should be greater than utilitarian—the interiors should be visually interesting as industrial automobile drivers spend most of their day behind the wheel. This perception shapes our deal with ergonomics, ease of operation and luxury.”
Change Mobility’s electrical gentle industrial automobile, Change IeV4, has a full-flat driver seat that folds all the way down to create a seamless floor. “This design isn’t solely aesthetically pleasing however extremely practical, permitting drivers to relaxation comfortably throughout lengthy shifts,” says Babu. In the meantime, he says, “The brand new entrance fascia of our autos has a curvy profile and clear surfaces. This improves visible enchantment and enhances aerodynamic effectivity, contributing to higher vitality financial savings.”
These modifications are appreciated by fleet house owners. “Drivers profit from ergonomic seating, higher cabin insulation and good storage options, which make long-haul journeys simpler and safer. This has improved their general well-being and productiveness, guaranteeing our operations run easily,” says Vijay Dakliya, director of Mahavir Fleet Operators, which has a 650-vehicle fleet.
The developments in supplies and applied sciences have reworked the best way autos are designed. Using light-weight, sturdy composite supplies and aluminium physique enable fluid and dynamic designs with out compromising on energy or performance.
The truth is, the deal with truck design improved after the implementation of BS 6 norms in 2020. Most vehicles offered in the present day are absolutely constructed by producers reasonably than assembled regionally. New-generation vehicles include car-like options resembling air-con, energy home windows, pneumatic driver seats and telescopic steering. VECV’s new designs have daytime working lights that get switched on when the engine begins. “Whereas there was an incremental price to those options, they’ve enabled operators to enhance the space coated day by day by over 20%,” says Kaushik Narayan, CEO of Leaptrucks, India’s largest on-line platform for the sale and buy of used vehicles.
Daimler offers significance to the design and aesthetics of vehicles. The traces of its Actros and eActros vehicles are easy, however they give the impression of being glamorously rugged. But, type doesn’t trump operate. “The important thing utilitarian perspective of a industrial automobile design is the price of substitute, which must be low,” says Pradeep Kumar Thimmaiyan, president and chief expertise officer, Daimler India Industrial Autos. Which is why Daimler is changing the plastic components within the entrance with metal, in a nod to insurance coverage corporations that refuse to pay for the previous that will get simply broken.
Industrial autos endure extra accidents than automobiles. Producers, subsequently, need to be prudent about substitute prices. If the bumper is in, say, three items reasonably than one, it’s cheaper to switch the nook that will get broken. “For producers, it’s aesthetics versus low price. We are likely to compromise a bit on aesthetics in order that we are able to maintain the substitute price low,” provides Thimmaiyan.
The way forward for industrial automobile design will probably be formed by sustainability, good expertise and customisation. Because the business strikes towards related autos, designs should incorporate superior sensor programs and communication applied sciences.
At a crossroads
The truck has to vary as a result of the automobile is at a crossroads. There aren’t many takers to drive a truck. Many autos are sitting idle as a result of India has about 60 lakh vehicles and fewer than 36 lakh drivers. There are solely 55 drivers for 100 vehicles now, in contrast with 75 drivers just a few years in the past.
“There’s a must make a truck driver’s job extra aspirational by designing the truck setting as protected, skilled and as dignified as a pc workstation or an workplace cubicle,” says Uhlarik of Tata Motors, which is leveraging digital actuality and augmented actuality instruments to visualise giant truck our bodies. “We additionally simulate completely different load our bodies in vehicles to make designs for a number of use circumstances and eventualities,” provides Uhlarik.
The long run design of business autos will draw inspiration from airplanes, inside structure {and professional} gear, specializing in performance, ergonomics and sturdiness, reasonably than merely imitating automobiles. “This method will remodel the best way companies use and work together with their fleet, pushing the boundaries of business automobile design towards sophistication, utility and precision,” says Uhlarik.
To draw the millennial driver, the inside, exterior and electronics have to vary. The truck, says Thimmaiyan, must be extra like a gadget.
