Force Motors and Their 2020 Gameplan

Force Motors and Their 2020 Gameplan
The all-new Force Motors Gurkha
Force Motors and Their 2020 Gameplan
The all-new Force Motors Gurkha

Force motors limited is an Indian vehicle manufacturing company, with Dr Abhay Firodia heading the board. Force motors is famous for brands like Tempo, Matador, Traveller and Minidor. Over the years the company has had associations with many international companies like Bosch, AMC, Daimler, MAN and ZF, which have enabled it to have trend-aligned products in the market. Other than producing light transport vehicles it also makes engines, axles and a variety of die-cast aluminium parts. Force motors is the largest van manufacturer of the country and comes in at the three hundred and twenty seventh position in India’s fortune 500 companies.

Having started out as the Bachraj Trading company and under a license from Tempo Germany, started making three-wheeled auto-rickshaws, tempos and small trucks. It was established in the year 1945 but didn’t have light transport cars in its assembly line till 1951. In 1958 Bachraj Trading company and Tempo (Germany) started a joint venture called the Bajaj Tempo Motors, with Tempo acquiring twenty-six per cent shares of the company. Later in 1971 Tempo became a part of Daimler-Benz. In 1968, a few years before Tempo became a part of Daimler-Benz Firodia Group had taken a majority stake in Bajaj Tempo. Daimler-Benz retained only 16.8 per cent of the shares till 2001. Finally in 2005, the automotive manufacturer was renamed Force Motors.

Force Motors introduced the Tempo Matador in the Indian market in the 1950s, which was the first diesel light transport vehicle in the country. They started the production of Hamseat three-wheelers in 1958, in collaboration with Vidal & Sohn Tempo Werke, Germany. Tempo Traveller’s production commenced  in 1987. It was produced in the newly set up plant in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh, which was designed according to the specifications provided by Daimler-Benz. In 1997 Daimler had requested assembling facilities dedicated towards testing the engines for Mercedes passenger cars.

Force Motors also partnered with MAN SE and signed a technology sourcing agreement with them in 2003. The completion of the agreement and a request from MAN resulted in a joint venture between the companies called MAN Force Trucks private limited. In the year 2012 MAN bought out Force and established MAN Trucks India as a separate entity.

Force Motors now continues its legacy of introducing pioneering ideas in the Indian market by revealing the country’s very first shared mobility platform. The platform is being designed and developed for both internal combustions as well as the pure electric engines. They introduced the novel platform with the all-electric Traveller sized Van.

The project was codenamed T1N and began four years ago, with the goal of achieving a  world-class, shared mobility platform. It would be more advanced than the current technology and ascend to international standards in terms of convenience, passenger comfort and safety.

T1N provides crash and rollover compliance, along with airbags for both the driver and the co-driver. It will come equipped with these features despite it not being mandatory under the current Indian Legislation. This is the first vehicle in its category in India to offer these components. The four-wheel disc brakes in T1N comes with ABS (anti-lock braking system), EBD (electronic brake force distribution), EDTC (engine drag torque control) and ESP (electronic stability programme).

A team of 100 devoted specialist engineers and senior managers experienced and skilled in their respective fields, were selected to work on this project. The team consulted various leading technology specialists and domain experts during many stages of progress. They also performed benchmarking studies with domestic as well as international help.

The two box construction design of the T1N platform ensures the least NVH (Noise, Vibration and Harshness) levels in the passenger cabin as the engine is technically outside. Another thing debuting in this segment is the front suspension and transverse parabolic springs, which make the ride quality best in class.

The new BS-6 compliant diesel engine provides power to the vehicle, producing a peak torque of 350 Nm. A BS-6 compliant CNG version and an all-electric powertrain are also in the works and will be available in the near future.

This new Van is currently going through the final verification and homologation process at the new state of the art facility set up in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh. The facility has a body shop equipped with amenities like robotic and laser welding. These vehicles are going to be showcased at the 2020 Auto expo and are expected to go on sale by the end of the year.

Force Motors has a vision for the T1N to be exported across the globe. They are developing the van accordingly and are already eyeing to launch it in select markets in African, Middle-eastern, ASEAN and South American countries.

At  2020 Auto Expo, Force Motors has showcased various models based on the new platform. It has also showcased a new iteration of Trax people mover. Also, the all-new Gurkha SUV has also made its debut at this year’s expo.

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