Domestic sales of medium- and heavy-duty rigid trucks fell by 15.41% to 139,486 units in FY2020 from 164,896 units in the financial year 2019-20. While this appears not to be a major fall if the registrations last year are compared with two years ago, when 280,139 units were registered, this is a halving of the market in two years.

Total tractor sales in the fiscal year 2020-21 (April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2021)  fell by 28.9% to register 13,880 units compared with 19,516 units in the previous year (FY2019-20). Since two years ago this means the market has shrunk by 72% from when sales had registered 70,989 tractor units.

Sales of medium and heavy rigid trucks (7.5t gvw and above) in India during the fourth quarter (January to March 2021) of fiscal year 2020-21 increased by 112.1% to register 66,330 units, up from 31,275 units in same quarter of the year, 2019-20. This recovery was also in contrast to the decrease in the same quarter last year, which saw the market collapse from the previous year’s final quarter period (Q4/2018-19) when 80,355 trucks were registered.

Tractor sales grew by 55.5% during the fourth quarter in fiscal year 2020-21 (January to March) to register 8,413 units compared with 5,409 units in the same quarter of the previous year (FY2019-20). Tractor production increased by 72.5% overall from 4,970 units to 8,572 units and exports were also up by 24.2%.

Ashok Leyland Ltd of Chennai has announced it is offering round-the-clock support for all commercial vehicles transporting oxygen as well as other essential supplies.

Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MORTH), based in New Delhi, has mandated oxygen carrying tankers (oxygen transporting tankers which are used for emergency services especially for supporting COVID affected patients) with and without National permits1 capable of carrying oxygen, install Vehicle Location Tracking (VLT) devices compliant with AIS 140 standards.

KamAZ OSJC of Naberezhnye Chelny has expanded its range of heavy-duty tippers for off-road quarrying operations with the new 10x6, KAMAZ-65807, which offers a payload of 65t (95t gvw) – it was launched at MiningWorld Russia-2021 exhibition in Moscow in April.

Truck, bus and trailer builder, Ashok Leyland Ltd of Chennai, has launched its 4-axle (14-wheeler) 8x2 DTLA (dual-tyre-lift-axle) AVTR 41201 truck, which offers an additional 5-tonne payload compared with its standard 8x2 truck models.

Truck giant, Tata Motors Ltd of Mumbai, has launched its new variant in M&HCV segment – the Tata Signa 3118.T1 – a 3-axle 6×2 rigid truck with a gross vehicle weight (gvw) of 31 tons featuring a 12.5t dual tyre lift-axle.

Coinciding with the new medium-duty truck models for the Class 5&6 market segments,  Peterbilt Motors Company of Denton, Texas, part of Paccar Inc, has also  launched this new ‘medium’ truck design in the Class 7/8 market segments, under Model 537 and Model 548.

Truck production in Brazil maintained an upward trend in the first quarter this year, despite the assembly lines being forced to shut down towards the end of March and has continued to the second week of April.

Truck sales in Brazil during the first quarter this year grew by 29.5%, 26,139 units compared with 20,160 units in the same period of 2020.