Everyone knows about India’s cricket team skipper MS Dhoni’s love for anything on wheels.
Everyone knows about India’s cricket team skipper MS Dhoni’s love for anything on wheels. Now it looks like the machines are reciprocating that love and Ashok Leyland is showing it by naming a truck series after him i.e. the “Captain” series of heavy-duty commercial vehicles. The Captain will feature large cabins that offer greater comfort with adjustable seats, air conditioning and a music system along with more a more refined engine. The commercial vehicles series will replace the U-series trucks that haven’t seen impressive sales since their arrival in 2010.
Captain MS Dhoni at the launch of the Ashok Leyland Captain-Image via Business Line
The trucks will be manufactured at Ashok Leyland’s plant in Pantnagar, Uttarakhand with the very first model being the Captain 2523 Tipper priced at Rs 24 lakh onward. The Captain 2523 is built for mining and construction purposes and is powered by the “H” series, BS III engine, that produces 225 BHP @ 2500 rpm & the peak torque of 800 NM from 1400-1900 rpm. The series as a whole will feature Common Rail Diesel engines that offer power outputs between 160 BHP to 360 BHP. The company claims that the Captain will even go up to a top speed of 80 kmph. The Captain series will include tippers, tractors and haulage vehicles that manage a Gross Vehicle Weight of 16 tonnes -49 tonnes.
Indian cricket team captain M S Dhoni with Vinod K. Dasari Managing Director, Ashok Leyland during the launch of ‘Captain’ truck series. Image via PTI
Vinod K Dasari, managing director, Ashok Leyland stated ” The Captain series is inspired by Mahi’s values of leadership, performance, perfection and innovation.” Ashok Leyland believes the Captain series exceeds their expectations of performance, durability and reliability. What’s more is that the trucks will be backed up by a network of 475 service stations.
Ashok Leyland Hopes To Make Up For The Poor Reaction The U-Series Received with The Captain
The Captain series will have around 18 vehicles to its name. Ashok Leyland has spent around Rs 700 crore on the development of the Captain series and has created the vehicles with international cues as well. Although the truck has been developed by Ashok Leyland, they have taken assistance from an Italian firm for the cabin design and a UK firm for the structural engineering. Apart from the Indian market Ashok Leyland also plans to export the series to Middle Eastern, Latin American, African and South East Asian countries as completely built imports.
The Ashok Leyland-Captain 2523 Tipper Is The Very First Truck In The Series
Source: Economic Times