Capital Equipment News November 2017

TRANSPORT – FUTUROAD EXPO 2017 REVIEW

Tata unveils new range of light trucks

Tata Motors used Futuroad 2017 to unveil its new generation range of commercial vehicles, the Tata Ultra. Three new models from the Ultra range were showcased including the ULTRA 814 (4, 5 t), ULTRA 1014 (5,5 t), and ULTRA 1418 (7,5 t). With three wheelbase options and payloads ranging from 3 to 8 t, the Ultra platform is designed to deliver across applications, making it a true business utility vehicle. “The Tata ULTRA range is a result of extensive feedback from customers in the South Afri- can market and we are proud to introduce the pioneering range of trucks in the local market,” says Rudrarup Maitra, Vice President, Commercial Vehicles, International Business, Tata Motors. “The Tata Ultra 814 is the first variant to be launched in South Africa and we are looking forward to launching the Ultra 1014 and the AMT versions of both models in 2018. The Ultra range will be assembled locally at the Tata Motors South Africa (TMSA) plant situated in Rosslyn, Pretoria.” “The Tata ULTRA is a true business utility vehicle in every sense and is an important milestone in Tata’s continued focus on South African market,” says Len Brand, executive director & head Dis- tribution Vertical at Tata International Ltd. “After the success of Tata Prima vehicles, the Tata Ultra is another future-ready range, designed for comfort and performance. Tata ULTRA will help us address a larger commercial vehicle customer base, varied ap- plication segments and enable customers upgrade to a new-age business utility truck in the freight carrier, short and medium haul distribution segment.” Niraj Srivastava, head of Auto Business at Tata Africa, says de-

With three wheelbase options and payloads ranging from 3 to 8 t, the Ultra platform is designed to work across several applications.

livering high uptime to customers is the new range’s key objective. “Tata Automobile Corp SA has countrywide network presence and extensive parts availability. Ultra 814, which is first of the Ultra series will be offered with a 2-year/120 000 km service plan and 2-year/unlimited km warranty to ensure complete peace of mind for our customers.” b

Major changes predicted for motor industry in next 10 years

Electric vehicles, autonomously-driven vehicles, as well as a change in market control by the OEMs, are all upcoming events predicted to change the face of the motor industry in the next 10 years and beyond. These were some of the topics raised at the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA) conference at Automechanika on 27 September. Jan Jooste, director of Innovation at Sebokeng Campus – VUT Southern Gauteng Science and Technology Park, addressed delegates on the workshop of the future. “The international move away from internal combustion engines to hybrid or electric will mean that, due to economies of scale, elec- tric cars will become more affordable. The maintenance costs of electric cars are 10% of those associated with combustion en- gines. A combustion engine has 2 000 parts compared to an electric car that has 20. This

Gunther Schmitz, vice chairman of Right to Repair SA (R2RSA), then took to the stage to address the code and progress made by R2RSA on this issue. “The Right to Repair campaign is about fair competition which we believe leads to broad-based econom- ic growth, a more competitive industry and better offerings for the consumer. What this means is that parts prices will decrease. Studies in the EU and US, where the Right to Repair has been implemented, show that the price for non-captive parts are 6-10% lower,” says Schmitz. “Another benefit for consumers is im- proved quality of services. Currently autho- rised repairers are perceived as having a pre- mium status within the repair sector, despite the fact that surveys generally tend to show little difference with regards to the quality of the services provided. We expect a small shift from dealers to independent aftermar- ket for repairs on newer vehicles but a higher customer retention rate of dealerships due to improved service. In the end, those offering the best service will benefit,” he says. b MIWA conference Automechanika 2017: (From left) Gunther Schmitz, vice chairman of R2RSA, Vince Valette, representative from MAHLE, Pieter Niemand, director of MIWA, and Jan Jooste, director of Innovation at Vaal University of Technology

is going to impact the role of the repairer.” He added that while the ecological ar- gument for moving to electric cars is sound there are still very real challenges including hacking, the price and theft of copper, battery problems and so on. A more pressing issue he raised is the current situation with the coding of parts and what it means for vehicle owners who need repairs. “Consumers can’t afford being messed around any longer and there has to be a change in who has control of the repair of your vehicle. The coding of more and more parts on the vehicle means that consumers are forced to repair their vehicles at OEMs or dealers. This is costly and removes their right to choose.” He referred to the Motor Industry code of conduct currently under review and strongly urged it to be reviewed on the prem- ise of what is best for the consumer.

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